I would wait 2 weeks & then fertilize with a half dose of a soluble 3:1:2 ratio fertilizer. I won't go into details about RATIO vs NPK %s now, because you've prolly run up on the information in your reading. You'll go a long way before you'll beat Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 (a 3:1:2 ratio) as your 'go to' fertilizer. I use it for almost every single plant I grow, and have, for at least 3 years now. A good second choice would be any of the other 3:1:2 ratio soluble fertilizers, like Miracle-Gro 24-8-16 0r 12-4-8. Several other manufacturers also make a 24-8-16 equal to Miracle-Gro. I like the Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 because unlike most soluble fertilizers, it also provides Ca & Mg in a favorable ratio. Another plus it offers is in the fact that it also provides most of its N in Nitrate form, which helps keep plants from stretching out in low light - helps to keep them bushy/stout/compact. I would screen or rinse the fines from the perlite & use a wick in the bottom of the container. just to be sure there isn't any perched water to speak of. The cool thing about the wick is it will also serve as a 'tell'. When the wick feels dry where it exits the pot, it's time to water. Don't worry about the confidence thing. That will come - especially since you have so many here willing to help you knock all the t's off the can'ts. Al

You get what you pay for. Sorry about being blunt, but you bought a piece of crap. Sixteen watts??? Mostly red and orange, neither which are good for seedlings, unless you like really leggy plants that will fall over on their side if you breathe hard in front of them. Can you send it back? There are good, even close to great LED panels available. But if they are not rated at 90 watts or greater, stay away from them. Even some 90 watts are still a POS. But sellers hype them as being perfect for plants and some unwary people believe them. You could have spent about $30 on shop lights and provided much better artificial lighting for your seedlings. Mike

Peppers do generally take longer to germinate than the other two. And if you are in cooler temps than what ottawa mentions above, it can take a really long time (if the seed doesn't rot first). :-) About 3 weeks is when I usually start more, because, in my experience / environment, at that point if it hasn't germinated yet, it probably isn't going to (some do surprise you, though).

Over watering a likely cause? Very much so. It also can cause cotyledons to fall off while still green because the tap root is water-logged. I grow thousands of tomato plants each year for sale and the thing that retards and/or kills more seedlings than anything else is over-watering. We go through discussions of this topic over and over every year at this time here and consistently over-watering proves to be the cause of the problems. Everyone does it even when they are absolutely sure they are NOT doing it. It becomes compulsive. If a little is good then more must be better, right? No. When they can be convinced to cut their watering in 1/2 they are always amazed how quickly the plants improve. Sure plants won't grow if the soil is too heavy but they also won't grow if it is too wet regardless of how heavy it is or isn't because the roots are lacking in air. All the water has forced it out of the soil. Prove it to yourself. Cut the watering on 1 tray and see how the plants do when compared to those you continue to water as you normally would. Dave