Should I be doing anything else if the water is really clear
I assume you mean me and my signature comment. This is not my filter but mine looks the same.
[attachment=0:3aoerd67]ImageUploadedByTapatalk1340434556.028723.jpg[/attachment:3aoerd67]
This is what the inside of my filter looks like. I have a Hayward Perflex and to my knowledge, it is the only one that looks like this. When I am changing the DE (recharging) my filter, this part comes off the top of my filter body and I use a garden hose to clean off the old, dirty DE and the dirt stuck on the fabric looking materials that cover the "fingers" of the filter. I don't know what's inside them but it looks like tubes with springs inside.
Unless you have a Perflex filter, you will not have these inside your filter.
Edited for context and clarity