Amazingly enough the big tank has bounced back better than I had imagined. Stuff was brown for a week or two but I put on a wack of carbon and changed out the phosban and did a 15% water change et voila! It was back in action. Stuff is coloring up like crazy (some are still pretty stubborn) and the water is crystal clear. One bonus was the death of a scummy brown algae I had growing on the back glass and some of the rock. Its almost completely gone now and I don't think I've ever seen the rocks so algae free before.
As for the corals, well I've managed to get a few of my little prizes replaced. Most of the gaps have been filled in and the tank is actually looking a little less cluttered (note I said "a little"
).