There is an article about cycling in our articles section.
But, get a pair of panty hose and toss a cocktail shrimp into it so it isn't a mess to clean up. Toss it into the tank with all the sand and rock in there. Wait.
Get yourself an API master test kit, the one with ph, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. You will be testing your tank for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates. Don't worry about ph. The ammonia will go up, then go down. As the ammonia goes down the nitrites will go up. Then the nitrites will go down and the nitrates will go up. When you can't detect any ammonia or nitrites with the shrimp in there, the tank is cycled and you can add your first fish.