I did the same method I've had the best results with in the past. I placed the seeds in water till they sunk (around 15 hours). After that I put them in damp paper towel between two plates until the taproots were around 0.25"-0.5".
(I had issues with one seed showing its cotyledons before its tap root. All went well, however I'll expect a slower start from this one.)
From there, I placed the seeds 0.5" under the medium (taproot down, lightly covered), in their three gallon pots. I then gave them a bit of water directly where I planted the seed and a bit around them and turned on the light and fans (exhaust, intake, and airflow). The seeds broke the surface roughly 24 hours later.