Ya heavy dense soil/soiless mixes are just invitations for a host of problems, I personally have veered away from perlite (floats to the surface) and only use it for seed starting, I like hydroton, rice hulls and the such and use a " coots " mix or a variation of it at times or what ever I have on me1:1:1 if peat:compost: aeration is my base mix per volume.
@ada.milea66 this is a pretty decent thread to maybe help ya get going!