Bottom watering seedlings - questions...

I have some hot pepper seedlings (2-4" tall) growing in 2" plastic nursery pots, and a few in 2" clay pots. I've had a few damp-off & die, so I'm trying out bottom-watering with weak chamomile tea. My question is, how long should you leave the pots in water? I know that they're drinking, because I marked the starting water line on the pan before setting the pots inside, but after several minutes (10 or so) none were moist on the soil surface. Since I've erred on the side of over-watering before, I'm trying to let them dry out a little more now - so how long should I let them drink?

If there's significant water remaining in the tray after 20 minutes, I pour off the excess. I don't wory about 1/8 inch, but I don't like to let them sit in 1/2 inch or more of water. I have better luck with plastic than clay pots for seedlings... clay just seems to invite all sorts of "issues."

I like those polymer moisture crystals for guarding against both under- and over-watering. I'm bummed that watersorb.com stopped offering the small crystals, which were perfect for seed starting trays and cell packs... just don't add more than suggested by the directions, or your little pots will heave and overflow when the crystals expand.