Same ole same ole

Observations

1. Fish seem to always be hungry. I feed them some, they go away, but when I return a few hours later, they act like I hadn't fed them. They're like dogs with Prader-Willie.
2. I hadn't been shielding the tank from the light since I put up the shade in the far-left corner. It hasn't cleared up the algae, but it hasn't gotten worse either.
3. The plants are not doing well. The tips of the leaves are browning, and the new seedlings, while initially holding promise, didn't make it.
4. Based on the last point, I broke down and ordered some LED grow lights to help with the plants while preventing the proliferation of algae in the tank. Since the world is not going to end by not having it immediately, I opted for the take-your-time shipping for a Amazon digital credit.
5. I also ordered an aerator to insure the algae don't rob all of the oxygen from the fish. It's status is the same as point #4.
6. Nitrates have exploded. Nitrites are zero, as are ammonia. The system needs more plants to use the nitrates. I'm betting that the growlight is going to help with that.

The Numbers

Date	GH General Hardness	KH Carbonate Hardness	pH	NO2 Nitrites	NO3 Nitrates	NH3/NH4 Ammonia	Temp °C
11-Jun	180	40	6.5	0	160	0.00	23°

Thoughts

I'm really disappointed that my crop is not doing better. I've had a lot of false starts.  While the tank is reasonably stable, I've been unable to successfully grow a crop from scratch. Hopefully, these new additions will help. If anyone has any ideas that would help, please comment. Thanks.