I would agree it is best in the long run IMO. You could just put all your livestock and lr and as much water as possible into a large rubbermaid container with the heater and powerhead.
Get out the cc and rinse and wipe down the inside of the tank so you don't have a nitrate problem. Then you could refill the tank a little with good seawater or premixed saltwater at the same sg as you tank water and slowly put back the lr, then the sand (maybe add some pods to start the seeding of the tank and then after the sand storm has died down, turn off the light and start to add back in your livestock using a specimen container, not a net. Just make sure it is not more than a 50% water change and that all parameters are the same such as temp, salinity, etc...