Ive sure been wrong before, but I really thing this isnt going to end well.
If you do this, I think all the headaches involved will overwhelm in short order.
I know you are a DE guy.
But there is a reason they are not used as primary filtering, even in rather large municipal aquariums. In the larger systems much pre filtering is done before the water gets to the DE chamber. The thinking is, to get the water as clean as possible before hitting the DE.
The main reason is the DE itself.
The material is a bit of a PIA to deal with, even on the small scale normally used for home aquaria.
Look, objectively at all the steps you wrote to get this filter in operation.
Compare that to any other filter system.
For the money you can spend on your idea, you could build 3 systems that can filter to the 5 micron range with allot less hassle.
Not sure why the Ocean Clear gave you such grief.
They are pretty decent systems and I wont even guess at what the problem is with yours.
After a bunch of filter types, I`ve come to really like using pleated cartridge based filters.
All that out of the way.
I`ll be watching so, post up if you do this.
Good Luck
I do appreciate your feedback!!!!! I was looking for someone with a differing opinion to balance my enthusiasm.
I pulled the trigger and the filter is on its way from Amazon. I have a built in above ground pool with a cracked sand filter that I can re-purpose this filter for if this doesn't work out. (My rationalization for gambling $220)
While researching I have come across a couple of references (but no details) to large municipal aquariums using swimming pool DE filters... BUT I assume they are using large pool size pumps.
A friend gave me the Diatom filter I currently use as a thank you for welding his boat trailer back together. I had never heard of Diatom filters before and didn't even really want the filter. The initial royal pain in the rear of the first time I charged the Diatom filter disappeared in about 15 minutes as my tank water started clearing up like nothing I have seen before. When I received the Diatom the hoses were much too short and pretty stiff from age. I have replaced the hosed with black non-kink pond tubing. Now charging the Diatom is second nature and not a problem. Using the Double Big Gulp cup as a charge tank works very well and is quite easy. I plan to use my sump as the charge tank for this big DE filter. I will add a valve to "short circuit" the return flow from the DE filter directly to the sump (vs back to my aquarium). This will allow me to charge the filter without having to circulate the water through my aquarium.
In researching using the Hayward filter I have come across many references to other types of filtering powder that people have used. Cellulose fiber is a popular and well proven alternative to DE. The cellulose fiber is reported to filter to a finer particulate size (1 micron). Cellulose fiber is also biodegradable and it requires less powder to charge the filter. The most interesting DE substitute I have found is Zeolite, a powder made from volcanic material. Zeobrite is the name brand product made from zeolite, for filtration. The most interesting part of Zeolite is its ability to not only capture 1 micron size particles but also trap free ammonia ions on a molecular level. I am tempted to experiment with zeobrite but my ultimate plan is to have a terrestrial plant filter for removing nitrogen compounds... I don't believe the Zeobrite would leave any Nitrogen compounds for the plants to absorb.
I don't believe pre-filtering is necessary with DE filters. When I use my Diatom filter the large chunks just stay on the surface of the powder and don't embed themselves into the filter media like they do with cartridge filters. I can have a lot of big chunks of dirt in my Diatom with no noticeable loss of flow. Loss of flow comes gradually as the micron size pores fill up. The beauty of DE is it keeps the debris from coming in contact with the filter screens. Hence cleaning the screens is a process of removing the DE which has trapped the debris from the screens as apposed to removing the embedded debris from the screens themselves.
Pacu: Yes I do plan on using filter socks as the initial stage in my sump. I have already received about 10 assorted socks from McMastar Carr to experiment with while I am building my sump. I see the filter socks as a great pre-filter for the DE filter and will experiment with the different micron rated socks. I am a little concerned about how difficult it will be to clean the socks so I have some felt ones and some poly ones as discussed in the filter sock thread. My thinking is to make the socks as easy to access as possible so I can quickly (i.e. often) pull them and rinse out the debris before it starts to break down into Nitrogen compounds. My theory of filtration is to remove the big chunks before they break down to harmful chemicals. This leads me to the conclusion... small quick and easy to clean is much better than huge cumbersome systems that take a lot of effort to clean and store a lot of debris producing a lot of Nitrogen compounds. (This large DE experiment seems to contradict this idea!)
The Ocean Clear just could not take the pressure of my larger pump... after researching I am not the only one to have this problem. I could probably use my smaller pump successfully with the Ocean Clear or put the pump after the Ocean clear (to pull the water through instead of push it) but I am pretty frustrated with Ocean Clear's engineering. It looks like NuClear makes a much better filter with a much better seal than the Ocean Clears. If this DE experiment doesn't work out I will probably look at 20" blue cartridge filters and they can easily handle much higher pressures then the Ocean Clears. Ease of cleaning the cartridges is my biggest fear with the 20" blues.