1st- off soaking seeds is a waste of time.
2nd- FFOF is way hot for a seedling, Use it when you transplant in 2 weeks to it's final home (the less transplants the better)
3rd- ANY damage to the tap root fucks with the development of the plant, so the less transplants the better.
4th- distilled water is a waste of money, and actually is bad for the plant, as tap water provides essential minerals for your plant, such as Iron and zinc, just de-chlorinate (keep the water in a bucket for 24 hours)
I have tried every method to germ a seed, and after wasting a LOT of seeds, I have found this to be the best method of the bunch, and it is as simple as shit, and all items can be purchased on Amazon
.
1-Germination heat mat
1-bag Germination mix
1-Germination plastic tray
1-Package 2"x2" Peat Pot
1-2"x2" plastic insert for Germination tray (it holds the cubes inside the tray)
You simply add MOIST (NOT WET) germination mix to the 2" square pots
Using a pencil, poke a whole in the mix, ONLY until you reach the yellow on the pencil (1/4" max)
GENTLY cover the seed with the moist mix (keep it light so the seedling can easily break thru the mix)
Place the cube in the holder that is inside the tray, add some water to the bottom of the tray (for humidity), put the top on, plug in the heat mat, and come back in 3 days, I GUARANTEE you success.
The best thing about this method is the ease of transplant,, because you really never do. All you do, which you should actually do within a week, before the tap root emerges from the bottom of the peat pot, which will happen quickly.(4 days) Is put it into it's FINAL pot. This method works with EVERYTHING, soil and hydro. In hydro I use 4x4 rockwool cubes with holes, put the peat pot directly into the hole in the cube, put it in my bucket, cover it with pebbles, or whatever, the roots grow right thru the peat and away you go. In soil just dig a little hole, and just put your plug in the soil, your done.
From seed to final transplant takes around 10 days.
Try it, it works like a charm