Baby cichlids and future planning...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6icY9-O_Fg
Took this vid last night, had just cleaned the tank and reoriented the powerhead, I'd seen the original Acei school like this, but not in such quantity.

They look really healthy.
I see you have a couple of Moss Balls, do you find they do anything? Have they grown much? I understand the theory of the moss using the nitrates in the water, but have read mixed reports on their effectiveness.

With Cichlids I wouldn't really recommend them... it seems inherent in there nature to pick at the balls when they get agitated :/ what I will say is now that the tank is fully cycled they do seem to eleiminate algae growth on the glass... I like them because of this as well their novelty, no they haven't really grown since I both them but they've certainly shed... what I will say is they are the only 'plant' that have survived with the crushed coral substrate.

Moss balls grow really slowly and because of that they are poor nutrient sponges(they don't remove very much nitrogen from the water column). They prefer cool water with low light and lots of aeration. The are in fact a form of algae that is considered a national treasure in Japan where they are found in lakes. It is a protected plant over there.

Vals would do well in alkaline conditions, but most likely the reason that plants haven't done well in the crushed coral is because of a lack of nutrients. Good substrate is a key to success with rooted plants.

The fact that the tank is fully cycled is most likely the reason for the absence of algae on the glass. Ammonia and nitrIte are more easily absorbed by algae than nitrAte and therefore provide better nutrients causing increased growth. Since both of those elements are absent in a fully established aquarium it is likely that algae growth will diminish until another food source is available. Phosphate is is usually a constant food source for algae in the aquarium. Iron is another thing that causes an increase in algal growth, but you probably won't experience that in your setup(unless you add it).

Yeti, you may be thinking of an algal turf filter. This is where you make a portion of your sump into an environment where algae will thrive. Once established the algae will remove nitrogen, carbon, and phosphates from the water column. This nutrient removal makes it so that there is not enough nutrients in the water for algae to grow in the aquarium. It is also supposed to reduce or eliminate the need for water changes. I doubt that you would see any benefit from adding moss balls. They just aren't effective at removing nutrients from the water. Other "cichlid safe" plants(anubias, java fern, java moss, etc.) are also slow growers and hence not good nutrient sponges.