Most people will agree that all three: sand, DE or cartridge have advantages and dis-advanatges. It is basically a comparison of the amount of work you want to do vs the filtering quality you want. DE filters down to ~5 microns but most people also consider it the most work. I have a DE filter and don't mind the work -- of course I have an area to backwash the DE into where it won't be a huge pain.
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