Im no expert so dont listen to anything I say
I have grown in soil only once and had brilliant results
I would not worry about your leaves to much as long as they look healthy.
As a guide I would say stick your finger in the soil to the first knuckle if your finger feels moisture dont water if its dry water it .
also it makes a very big difference what size pot you use I ended up useing a 5 litre pot
and also if your plants are reaching for light ,How far is your light from your plants it needs to be as close as possible without burning about 4" I would say but then I use a 400 watt hps it depends on how hot your bulb is
these plants are at the end of the day weeds if you knnow anything about gardening you will know weeds are very difficult to kill!