Sand and rock recs in Canada?

Hello everyone, longtime lurker who just registered.

I am soon going to be setting up a new 37 gallon and plan to use sand substrate. I was planning on using pool filter sand, but have read some comments saying it gets dirty pretty quickly and doesn't look nice. I think all pool filter sand is white? The price is right but I am looking for recommendations for inexpensive black sand, besides those specifically made for aquariums already.

Also looking for ideas for rocks for scaping. I don't mind spending money on rocks at my LFS, but if anyone has any tips on other things I could use, that would be fantastic. We have a lot of landscape rocks around the plaza where I work that I was thinking of swiping, but I don't know exactly what type of stone they are so I'm not sure if that's okay to use. My tap water is already really hard where I live.

I live in Canada so I need recs for items available here, thanks!

 

Bkack diamond blasting sand is a cheap alternative for black, unsure if in Canada or not. Probably at a hardware store if it is.

 

Bkack diamond blasting sand is a cheap alternative for black, unsure if in Canada or not. Probably at a hardware store if it is.

This is not available in Canada unfortunately

 

This is not available in Canada unfortunately

I tried! I know nothing about Canada other than fish med situation.

 

I use pool sand, it's brownish in color. For black sand a lot of gardening stores will have them...just need to look around.

 

Hello everyone, longtime lurker who just registered.

I am soon going to be setting up a new 37 gallon and plan to use sand substrate. I was planning on using pool filter sand, but have read some comments saying it gets dirty pretty quickly and doesn't look nice. I think all pool filter sand is white? The price is right but I am looking for recommendations for inexpensive black sand, besides those specifically made for aquariums already.

Also looking for ideas for rocks for scaping. I don't mind spending money on rocks at my LFS, but if anyone has any tips on other things I could use, that would be fantastic. We have a lot of landscape rocks around the plaza where I work that I was thinking of swiping, but I don't know exactly what type of stone they are so I'm not sure if that's okay to use. My tap water is already really hard where I live.

I live in Canada so I need recs for items available here, thanks!

Welcome, fellow Canadian!

On the Western coast, I haven't have much luck finding cheap alternatives to black sand (nor have scoured for it), and it completely slipped through my mind when I went out to purchase sand for my 10 gallon re-scape.
Hoping I can still help, here's a link to a black sand thread I stumbled across awhile ago:
Black Sand Comparison: Spectraquartz, Ceramaquartz, Black Diamond Blasting - Comparison
The creator is from Californa, but regardless, it is still quite informative and opens one's eyes to the many types of black sand. You can then research availability in your area.

What are the dimensions/shape of your tank? I have a 36 gallon hexagonal tank I could share.