I couldn't help but read about your fishy smelling dishes. Don't panic, the fix is probably easier then you think. This is a different dishwasher than your accustomed. It probably does not have a disposal, or the drain is partially clogged. When the dishes stink, food from the previous cylces is collecting in the bottom and getting blown around and dried to the dishes in the later cycles. The reason it looks like sand is because the detergent is bleaching the food particle and the heat is drying them out crisp.