personally i just soak the seeds overnight in a cup of water then i throw them right into rockwool cubes that i have soaked in a phed 1/4 strength GH solution (i use lucas for short stocky plants). as soon as they pop out of the cubes i bury them in clay pellets and they go right into the dwc. works like a charm every time and i get germination in not more than 24-36 hours. oh another hint on rockwool, weigh it to see if it's too soaked. i feel anything over 35g is way to saturated. unless you have highly oxygenated water(like in a dwc)