Questions - Need some input

I hate to share bad news, but...

The Toadstool Leather that was moved out of my reef is in terrible shape. It was moved into a trashcan with live rock on July 4th. I knew it would slime heavily, and it did. I changed the water twice that week, doing 50% water changes in the barrel.

While I was out of town over the weekend, my tank sitter texted me that the house smelled terrible and that it was certainly the leather. As soon as I got home, I drained out 50% of the water ...

With the tank close to empty (still have to get out all of the sand and the last of the water, including in the overflows), I'm thinking about what to do next.

Wes is pushing for a huge upgrade. LOL It's always easier to get someone else to upgrade, after all. A bigger tank could be nice, but I know what the workload was for the 280g and have no reason to think it would be a minor adjustment for a bigger one. The truth of the matter is, larger tanks cost more every time. I may ...