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LARC Boil Master
LARC Supporter
Jun 17, 2014
The issue with moving tank to tank is its a reset on the ecosystem in terms of a set back on the system from the stress of a move so that is not in your favor.
Issue with your water parameters is Zero Nitrate / Phosphate with likely intense lighting and Elevated DKH which is No Bueno for coral health long term, they will eventually starve out, experience reduction in flesh and colors will not be as rich and more washed out.

You mention Xenia all but dead, that is a clear indicator leading to no dissolved nutrition in the water column for the coral to uptake through tissue and help fuel the symbiotic algae residing within. Both coral and symbiotic algae utilize dissolved nutrition directly from the water column.
There is a need to balance the tanks chemistry, lighting and dissolved nutrition in the tank.

I do agree that using dry rock is a longer process to having a stable tank able to support life and gain the biodiversity needed to sustain coral.
Rock will become live relatively quickly though that does not mean its able to support the tank in a way that is favorable for successfully supporting an ecosystem like matured live rock from the ocean or from more than one year in a tank.

All too often we get caught trying to avoid the ''Uglies'' and in the process keep the tank from being balanced to support the metabolic functions of the life forms we are trying to keep. If you are trying to keep algae at bay in a newer tank while housing corals there has to be a larger influx of food / nutrition into the tank while you have a large export of said waste where favorable organisms can thrive while not just fueling algae.
This is a much harder balance to achieve in a new / newer tank and reason why its more important to allow the fish to do the job of creating that stable environment over a 9 month to a year span under our care before adding corals.

Suggestions would be to set your lights a bit lower in intensity if you are going to keep the DKH elevated to 9/10 and start dosing a bit of amino acids conservatively which will help the corals in daily metabolic function in a system with limited to zero dissolved nutrition.
You can also feed your fish more to increase their waste which is heavily utilized by corals we keep.