Its possible that a portion of the nutrients in the soil may have been washed out by the repeated rinsing (its usually not recommended to do that for most soil). If the HC continues showing signs of nutrient deficiency, then you may need to add macro and micro nutrients into the soil to supplement it (only dose evenly into the soil near the plants, don't spray fertilizers directly on the plant leaves, it will burn them)
Get a plug timer to automate your light timings, it'll provide more consistent light photoperiod (set it for 14 hours photoperiod) and it'll also save you the hassle of having to manually switch it on and off every day.
Its also not necessary to seal the tank, especially in our local humid climate, our ambient humidity is already high enough. Lightly misting the soil twice a day (morning and evening) is usually enough to keep the soil hydrated. Sufficient air circulation helps to encourage plant growth and avoid fungus/mold growth, it is also good to allow the top layer of soil to dry out slightly in between mistings. Its basically like caring for house plants.
Btw, the soil seems to be submerged on the left side of your tank, its best to only keep the soil evenly moist but not waterlogged, that will enable the HC to grow fully emersed (not still partially or fully in water) and also help reduce fungus/mold issues.
You can check out my HC DSM journal thread and see how i did my setup:
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...Method-Journal!
Hope that helps.
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