I started with a 1/4hp high head pump for my DE filter which is small compared to the 1+ hp pool pump the DE filter is made to run with. I am now using the tiny QuietOne 3000 pump on the DE filter and it is working perfectly... other than the restart issue. But it wouldn't restart on the first try without the DE filter in the loop either. I had very serious doubts that such a small pump as the 3000 would be usable on the DE filter. The huge filtering area of the DE appears to impose negligible back pressure at the low flow rate of the tiny 3000 pump... I wouldn't be able to distinguish the difference in flow rate between having the DE in the loop or out of the loop visually. A 5 gallon buck and a stop watch might show a quantitative difference.
I might not be patient enough to let my QuietOne 3000 work through the noise when restarting. I usually plug it in and if it doesn't sound right immediately I unplug it and replug it instantly. It kind of seems to be less problematic the older the pump gets.
The main reason for switching to the QuietOne 3000 from the big pump was $$$ the big pump was adding to my electric bill. I too went the QuietOne route due to their reasonable price. When I move back to a big tank I will be doing some serious pump shopping to find a pump inbetween the 3000 and the 1/4hp pump with good flow and good efficiency.
