cant get coral to open

[billsweet]

new tank set up
37 gallon
eclipse hood retro fitted 65 watt pcs
45 lbs live rock
20 lbs of live sand
i let tank run about a month b4 adding a blue damsel then about two weeks later i started adding coral one piece a week for the last couple of weeks i have 2 pieces not doing well
mushrooms never fully open
devils finger never fully opens
i gave devils finger to my mother in law and about two days later piece looks like its recovering i dont understand she has regular florecent bulbs and no water movement just a undergravel filter with a air pump adds just trace element blocks and adds newly hatched brine
i have bright lights more water movement am adding calcium,stronium,iodine and am feeding chromoplex& photoplex feeding fish frozen brine
ph 8.2
ammonia 0.25 (cant get a reading of zero i have done 3-4 gallon water changes about every 2 weeks and have added ammonia detox)
NO2 0ppm
NO3 0ppm
any advice?

 

[poiboy]

When you say new tank, how new is it? Maybe your cycle is not over. I would do a couple more water changes to get the ammo to zero. Did you test before adding the chems maybe your overdosing your tank.

 

[reefnut]

Give your tank some time. At least until the ammonia reads a stead 0 for a while. Can you keep the mushrooms in your mother in laws tank for a while?
How do you like the eclipse? I've been wanting to get one...

 

[sebae0]

i don't think that your tank is fully cycled yet, by letting it run for a couple of weeks with nothing in it did nothing for the cycle. the cycle won't start until you add a fish or some kind of waste, thats what happened when you added the damsel. so by my account your tank is really not done cycling. see if your mother in law can hold corals until all test read zero.hth