Reddit mentions of Beamswork DA 6500K 0.50W Series LED Pent Aquarium Light Freshwater Plant Discus (120cm - 48")

Beamswork 48" is $66 on Amazon. There's a timer for it if you want for $17 as well.

Hello!

I hope you guys could please help me out with some issues that I am having with my nearly cycled tank. I just added these plants about a few weeks ago, and while some show signs of growing, others aren't looking too good. I have an Imgur album linked showing all the plants that I am having issues with.

Tank Specs/Parameters:
I'm still kind of cycling (fishless cycle so dosing ammonia), but my Nitrates are VERY VERY high. Trying to reduce it by doing water changes. The reason I say kind of cycling, when I got my water tested at my LFS, they said it was cycled, just needed to get nitrates down.

Light: Beamswork DA 6500K 0.50W Series LED

Substrate: Eco Complete

Water temp: 75 degress

Issues:

1. My Amazon Swords are turning transparent and then what looks like they're dying. I read somewhere that this could be them shedding their emersed leaves and growing new submersed leaves. I have added root tabs so that is where they're getting most of their nutrients from.
   
   
2. A few of my Moneywort stems seem to be turning black and mushy at the bottom, but the top is growing new leaves/stems.
   
   
3. My Staurogyne Repens seem to be doing alright. But I am noticing one bunch turning clear/dark (picture is in album), and I want to make sure this doesn't happen to the others.
   
   
4. My Cryptocoryne Wendtii Green also seems to be doing alright, but I did notice that one of the leaves has a hole in it and I don't think it was there when I first received it, so I just want to double check and see if it is some issue that I'm not familiar with.
   
   
5. Not shown, but my Anacharis pretty much has the same issues, turned "frail", clear, and dark. Thought it was a handful that were a bad batch but it seems like even the "good" ones that I was able to trim and plant aren't surviving or just barely.
   
   If anyone could offer any help/suggestions, it would be GREATLY appreciated. My original goal was to go for a low tech/low light set up, but I think I may have veered off a bit and bit off more than I could chew, plant choice wise.

https://www.amazon.com/Beamswork-6500K-Aquarium-Freshwater-Discus/dp/B016P96UA8/ref=sr_1_45?crid=1OI7CNYGKLM1C&keywords=led+aquarium+light&qid=1551286539&s=gateway&sprefix=led+aquarium+%2Caps%2C150&sr=8-45

these will grow almost anything.

Fair enough - shows why I'm a biology person and not a chemistry person. lol

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I was discussing this topic with a colleague today (physics/chemistry teacher and avid potter), and he was explaining to me the chemistry of clay and explaining it's aluminum content. So that all makes sense now, but I just still don't fully understand how the aluminum could move from the form found in clay (or Flourite) to the plants. I guess I need to do some more research on that aspect of all of this...

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Also, I crunched the numbers and found that 10 µM = 3,703.7 mg/kg and 75 µM = 27,777.8 mg/kg. Now compare that to the Seachem products: 10,210 mg/kg (Mineral), 33,150 mg/kg (Black), and 15,710 mg/kg (Red). Again, this leaves me to look into what the chemical processes are and how the aluminum is both fixed and able to move between the involved components.

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Of course one of the first things that I came across was all of the ADA stuff but...

1. I don't have money like that. Again, I'm a teacher... lol
   
2. I originally wanted to create a true biotope and have every aspect as true as possible to the organisms' native area.
   
   So with that in mind, I've gotten to the point where I think I'm going to layer my substrate and aim for a Walstad Method-esque approach. I'm currently planning on doing a clay layer to assist with CEC, iron needs, and root attachment; a layer of Rhyzomat with Flora-spore to further encourage strong root growth; and I'm still debating about how I want to set up the top layer.
   
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   I already purchased an 8 kg (17.6 lbs) bag of Fluval Stratum Plants that I plan to mix with some other leftover aquasoil that a friend passed on to me (no idea what brand it is exactly, though). I've thought about putting down a layer of the aquasoils capped with Black Diamond blasting sand but I've also thought about doing the opposite (soil on sand). Suggestions?
   
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   Also, for reference, I'll be running an overflow sump and I have two 4 ft Beamsworks lights (DA FPEC and DA 6500K discus). I'm still figuring out if I'll use ferts or not and I have no intention of using CO2 in the near future.

I leave them on for about 8-10 hours.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016P96UA8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

That's the light I have.

https://www.amazon.com/Beamswork-FSPEC-Aquarium-Light-Freshwater/dp/B01LFF0878/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1520120765&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=beamswork&psc=1

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https://www.amazon.com/Beamswork-6500K-Aquarium-Freshwater-Discus/dp/B016P96UA8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1520120765&sr=8-6&keywords=beamswork&dpID=51qWKmCc9xL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

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Either one