When I soak my almonds for making nut milk I soak for 12hrs. I first rinse then fill with soak water and change it once during the soaking period.When you say sunflower Im guessing you mean sunnies which are dehulled.I like to soak my sunnies for 4hrs. give or take an hr.I rinse them 3-4 times in an easy sprouter before the soak.The water will become very cloudy with starch do to the high protein content of sunflower hearts/sunnies.After the soak I rinse again and let them remain in the sprouter for 12-20 hrs.Then I transfer them to the fridge I like to use them for smoothies and strait seed milk.I use pumpkin like flax seed I soak for 10min. then blend or just eat them without soaking as a snack.I have some pics. of my sprouts in the Image Gallery in the photos section under grassmans sprouts.My favorite sprout is sunflower greens very tasty but labor intensive