first thing is to buy a book on keeping saltwater fish and read it all.
then you will feel more prepared.
i would only use live rock and live sand.
Live rock is the main bio filter in a saltwater tank and the horses like to hitch to it sometimes.
pods are not pony food except for small ponys. no seahorse could survive on pods, my tank is full of them and i never see them eat them.
Captive bred ponys eat frozen mysis shrimp and frozen brine shrimp. use a good quality brand that has vitamins added.
Read up on cycling the tank with cleaning ammonia and do it that way instead of the dead shrimp way. After its cycled with Ammonia then add the live rock and sand and see you get any ammonia spike.
There is no set time frame for a cycle, its done when its done, it all depends on how high the ammonia level gets to. Dont think a fast cycle is good because its not. Its alot better to have a high ammonia reading when you cycle, then you will end up with a more powerfull bio filter in the end.
A 29g tank can handle a pair of reidi or erectus ponys. i would also get a good protein skimmer, even though its a small tank its still good to have to keep water quality high.
