Is potting an orchid necessary?

[eustoma]

I just bought my first orchid recently, a beautiful Phal, but added a bit too much of the sphagnum moss when repotting it because most of my substrate was just hydroton clay balls and I thought it needed something to hold onto a little moisture...

Well it turns out I was wrong because a week later the lower leaves are droopy and leathery, so I remove the orchid from the pot and there is a mass of rotted roots in the center of the root system.

I took out all the substrate and left it bare rooted in its container to dry out, and I did buy some bark yesterday to repot it but now I'm wondering if that's even necessary. Couldn't I just soak the roots as is once a week and then leave it in its pot? Or would it eventually start dying if I did that?

I'm just scared of repotting it again just to have more issues as I know bark isn't as moisture retentive as sphagnum moss, but still retains moisture nonetheless.

Also do I need to cut off the unhealthy roots if I do decide to repot it again? Or can I just leave those on? The youtube videos I've seen did say to cut them off, but I guess a part of me is scared to.