Ketapang Leaf Black Water

To brew blackwater extract, follow the following steps:

1. Collect or purchase a bag of Indian Almond Leaves. If you purchase, Grade C leaves will be good enough, but remind your supplier not to clip off the leaf-stubs if he routinely does so.

2. Wash the leaves over running water with a stiff brush if they are not already washed. If they are already washed, rinse the leaves.

3. Get a large pot which is large enough to contain say 2 gallon ( 10 litres) of water.

4. Put about 50 (or more) leaves for each gallon of water the pot can contain.

5. Fill with clean water (preferably with chlorine and chloramine removed)

6. Weigh the leaves down with a chemically inert stone (e.g. granite).

7. Let the leaves soak in the pot for a day.

8. Boil the pot for 15-20 minutes.

9. Leave it to cool and soak for another day.

10. Boil one more time for 10-15 minutes.

11. Leave to cool. The water in the pot should be as black as thick coffee and very fragrant.

12. Filter the blackwater extract through a coffee paper filter (to trap detritus or any other insoluble matter).

13. Store the liquid in sturdy plastic or glass bottles.

14. Refrigerate or keep somewhere cool.

Dosage & Improvements

Dosage will be 1 ounce for 1 gallon (5 litres) of water in the betta tank. Use your discretion for larger tanks, but do not use more than 1 ounce for 1 gallon of water.

To improve efficiency you may also add anti-chlorine and chloramine into it, but make sure you calculate how much to add so that when you use 1 ounce of your blackwater extract, you will be able to treat 1 gallon of water (to rid it of chlorine and chloramine).

You may also add 6 ounce (1 ounce ~ 28gm) of aquarium salt to 1 gallon of the blackwater extract. The salt will cause some precipitation in the blackwater extract, but the precipitate will dissolve in water when the extract is added to the tank.

A small amount of salt is not only useful for the fish but acts as a preservative for the blackwater if you intend to store it for longer than a month. If you do not use salt, then either keep the bottle in the refrigerator or using standard canning process to give it a longer shelf-life.