Perlite & Water Meter

Does perlite affect the accuracy of a water meter? A few hours after a saturating watering, the meter shows a 2 out of 4 reading (1 being the driest). I've tested the meter on perlite-less soil, and it seems to work fine. I am using 20% perlite 80% Foxfarm Ocean Forest. Is that too high of a perlite percentage?

Thanks for any consideration.

The purpose of Perlite is to ariate your soil mix and is not intended to retain moisture. If you want to add something that will retain moisture, add Vermeculite.

Vi

Is vermaculite neceassary, though?

No, it's not, actually given the two choices, the perlite is much more important. You want to water, than allow the roots to dry out before the next watering, perlite aids in this process very nicely.
Peace

Appreciate the help.