germination in rockwool

do i need to soak my rockwool in ph neutral water before atempting to germinate my seeds, and do i need to keep it wet,moist, or damp during germination

you would want to soak the rockwool in something like 5.5 pH water for a min of 30 mins.
you can germ in a paper towel then transfer to the rockwool, or you can toss the seed in there... You want moist and dark.

how long until i put them under lights

depends, all you gotta do is pinch the rockwool and you can put it under the light(cfl i hope).
you would want a weak light for now.