Goodbye 2 cubic feet of perlite and 2 cubic feet of organic potting soil...
     
Repotting Day!
One issue with clear cups though is algae forming on perlite. If possible, i will cover them in foil while under lighting conditions or outside. It is also important to poke many holes for proper drainage and air exchange! I made the mistake of keeping them too wet and light exposed, and it led to algae which seemed to inhibit root growth.
One day i also left them out in the sun. Many trees wilted, and the roots were hot and bone dry. I transplanted soon after, and some of the roots seemed to have looked in less than ideal shape.
It has been a few days now and everything looks great! Plenty of soil to hold on to plenty of water.
Soil is approx 30-40% perlite, the rest was cheap organic potting soil. The perlite i bought was really nice, no fertilizer added like miracle grow, very coarse from a 2 cu ft Vigoro for ~18$ I think there are also 4cu fr sizes available for ~36$. I thought about ordering perlite from amazon, but it gets crushed in shipment. They didnt have many bags at the big box store but it was much coarser than the 18qr miracle gro fert-perlite.
My cutting success rate on the big batch was officially 20%. Much lower than expected and desired, but i know a lot more about how to do it! Next cuttings will be over 66% i hope!