you can always add a couple scoops of sand from someones established fuge or even add a small amount of lr to it and it will help boost your bacteria population.i would also probably cure the rock seperately in a rubbermaid or tote bin before i added it into my tank to flush out alot of the die off
best thing for rinsing sand is simply a fishnet put some sand in the net and flush it with water over a bucket keep dumping the water and re rinse the sand untill your completely sick of it lol oh and i did the same thing a long time ago and i paid a friend $20 to rinse my sand outside.....after a couple months of being not stirred up it was pretty bad and well worth the 20 bucks...for me anyways lol hehehe
