I am new myself, but I have read quite a bit lately and think I can at least give you the basics. I am using a 29 gallon as well. The best piece of advice I can give is to read and search this forum. Dorkfish's sticky at the top is tremendously helpful.
If you are antsy to get started, don't do anything rash right away. Find out if you want to do a fish only setup, a fish only with live rock, or a reef. Reef is the most difficult and expensive, so that probably would not be good to start out with. Also, the larger the tank, the more stable it will be. However, it will also be more expensive.
The first thing you must do is cycle the tank. I am in the cycling process now, and this usually takes between 30 and 45 days. What I recommend is getting the cycle started as soon as possible if you are serious about it, and then research in the time that you have to wait. Quick decisions lead to lots of problems.
All you really need to cycle is substrate, some salt mix, and some powerheads or filters to circulate the water. Sand is the best substrate in my opinion, because it can house more bacteria and just looks better!
Here is what I did to start. I bought a 50 pound bag of play sand at home depot for around 3 dollars. I took half of it and washed it until all of the dust was gone, and then added it to the tank. I then went to my local fish store and bought a bag of instant ocean salt for 20 dollars, a hydrometer for 15 dollars, and a 20 pound bag of live sand for around 30 dollars.
I filled the tank about halfway with fresh water, and then mixed the instant ocean in until I got a salinity of 1.023. Then, I added the 20 pounds of live sand on top of the play sand, and filled the rest of the tank with salt water. The water was very cloudy. I let the tank settle overnight, and then added a HOB filter with the filter still inside to strain out some of the finer dust that was in the tank.
Next, I threw 2 frozen deli shrimp into the tank to begin the cycle. This is called a fishless cycle. Another way to begin cycling is to add uncured live rock to a new tank. Uncured live rock has lots of dead or dying organisms that will cause the ammonia level to rise in the aquarium, which is an essential part of the cycle.
Live rock is reef rock that is loaded with lots of organisms and bacteria that help an aquarium remain balanced. Lots of interesting and cool things will come out of the live rock, and over time will make your aquarium come to life. This is probably the most expensive part of starting a saltwater aquarium. You need about 30-45 pounds of live rock in your saltwater aquarium. It isn't just an aquarium full of fish and some rocks, it is an entire ecosystem.
Most of the filtration in established saltwater aquariums is done by the live rock and live sand. Regular freshwater filters can be used, but only to circulate the water. Most people use powerheads to make sure the aquarium has current, and there are no dead spots on the live rock which can become toxic.
The use of a protein skimmer is recommended for saltwater aquariums. I do not have one, so I can't tell you much about them. I have read that they are not essential with light bio-loads (fish volume), and regular water changes.
In a tank that size, you should probably only get 2 or 3 fish, tops. You might be able to squeeze in 4 with a good skimmer. Search sites that sell saltwater fish and read about the types you would like to get. Many fish types are not compatible. For my 29 gallon, I am looking at a Percula Clownfish, a Bicolor Angel, and a Firefish Goby. This list has evolved as I have gotten more information about the fish types and compatibility.
You can also buy cleaner packages at many websites which consist of snails, crabs, starfish, and other invertibrates that help keep the aquarium clean and balanced.
It is recommended that RO (Reverse Osmosis) freshwater is used to mix the salt instead of just tapwater. Tapwater can be used, but there can be more problems with algae and phosphates that are in the water that could be harmful to your tank. RO machines are expensive, but most believe they are well worth it. You can use 5 gallon jugs of bottled water as well.
Here is what is essential to start:
Salt Mix
Hydrometer
Saltwater Test Kit
Substrate
Combination of enough powerheads or filters to move 290 gallons per hour. (10x)
Thermometer
Clean Buckets
Highly Recommended
Live Rock
Live Sand
Good protein skimmer rated for a tank twice your size
Heater
Saltwater tanks need a salinity from 1.021 to 1.025, with a PH from 8.1-8.4 and a temperature around 75-80 degrees.
If you have any questions I didn't answer, use the search feature. I had almost all of my questions answered that way.
Hope this helps. Let me know how it turns out.
