keep in mind that futures are a very leveraged product. on a good note, PDT rules don't apply to the futures market. on a bad note, they apply to SEC markets, and you may have some issues since your account is under 25k. however, with index options, you can leg into some fairly tight spreads if you don't have any daytrades available to you.
big vol moves may hurt you if you choose options to fade the market. so pay attention to what the vols are doing.