turning sand

[Yell0r0b]

hi, i have 50lbs of pool sand in my 60g tank and i heard that the sand has to turn every once in a while so that posphate doesnt biuld up in the tank that could very deadly to the fishes?? i was thinking about using freshwater clams or trumpet snails so that they can do the job for me but i have clown loaches in there so most likely they will end up being food. any ideas of what to do? should i just stir the sand manually once in awhile? if so, how often?? is there some other type of snail or critter i can put in the tank that wont be food and will stir up sand for me??
any info will be greatly appreicated....
thx

 

[tha_predator]

using live plants will help aerate the substrate w/ their root systems or just use something like a dowel rod and stir it thru the sand maybe once a month. if you see any discolored patches of sand treat it carefully.

 

[fsc46]

How about trumpet snails....

They work great in my tank.