Well i think it looks pretty good(minus the elephant stool aquscape lol) and no Brad didn't make me say that but i couldn't resist
I think you need to just let the tank slowly come back and with pods coming back is a great sign. Add a cheap fish or two and get some well seeded sand from someone to help give your sand bed a bit of a boost. I would also add a small hang on container to the back wall with some chaeto or other macro algae. I would do 20% changes now as it looks pretty good. Also maybe setup a hidden camera near by to make sure nobody is playing with the tank lol.