Thats bad practise to do what you've done there Chris unless you're wanting to create a level canopy at the top with nothing underneath.
The only time you should consider removing leaves is at the end of the season to let the sun ripen the fruits or if the leaves are dead or diseased.
The Big leaves are very important during the grow for photosynthesis. Without them, you have no plant.
Whats going to happen now is all the energy will be transferred to the top of the plants making them more leggy.
They will still grow and stay healthy so dont worry too much.

But those side shoots will take longer to develop. I would be tempted to pinch an inch or two off the top of each plant to send some energy back down to those side shoots.
The plants will be leaning over because the roots have nothing to cling to for support like they would have in soil. Add a few stakes if you feel they're going to topple over. (they look ok for now though)
Cheers, Frank.

p.s. get that rockwool covered over! any light getting through into the buckets is bad news.
