Cloudy Indian Almond Leaf Extract / Blackwater Solution?

so I boiled some minI catappa/indian almond leaves today to make a tannin solution for my betta's tank. as soon as it was done, it looked exactly like black tea: a deep reddish brown, but clear.




fast forward several hours and now the extract is a murky, cloudy brown. i'm not sure if that's what's supposed to happen lol. it looks worse in person, the photo doesn't really capture the cloudiness.




I left the leaves in the solution, so are they just decomposing? was I supposed to put it in the fridge? have I dun goofed? i'd like to know if it's safe to use in my betta's tank (and ideally won't make the water cloudy) or if I have to make a new batch and do it differently this time.

thanks!

 

I have never done it before but I would think boiling it would speed up the decomposition. When you boil it, you usually throw out or remove the leaves and keep the tannin rich water alone. This is just from what i’ve seen people do on video.

 

I have never done it before but I would think boiling it would speed up the decomposition. When you boil it, you usually throw out or remove the leaves and keep the tannin rich water alone. This is just from what i’ve seen people do on video.

yeah, I figured... but then some people leave the leaves in their tanks until they're fully decomposed, so I was like, why not? I thought that maybe leaving the leaves in there would make the solution even darker. grrr. I will take the leaves out and see if it's still gross tomorrow lol. I need to get some more leaves :/

 

Never saw this before but I usually throw the leaves just as is in the tank. The tannins release slowly and a nice habitat for micro fauna develops.
I used the boil and extract method once and I think I poured to much in the tank. It had cost the life of 5 Ember tetras and a GBR.
Never again for me.

My opinion is: If it looks questionable, throw it out and do it again.

 

It's normal in my experience. I've added too much extract before, it caused a minI bacterial bloom that cleared up in a day or two.

 

Never saw this before but I usually throw the leaves just as is in the tank. The tannins release slowly and a nice habitat for micro fauna develops.
I used the boil and extract method once and I think I poured to much in the tank. It had cost the life of 5 Ember tetras and a GBR.
Never again for me.

My opinion is: If it looks questionable, throw it out and do it again.

I already have like 15 leaves on the bottom of my tank, but it's not giving me the dark effect I want. and oh no! that stinks. i'm sorry.

It's normal in my experience. I've added too much extract before, it caused a minI bacterial bloom that cleared up in a day or two.

I might try adding just a little bit after a water change... it looks a bit better today.

 

I already have like 15 leaves on the bottom of my tank, but it's not giving me the dark effect I want. and oh no! that stinks. i'm sorry.

You might want to give alder cones a try. I was reading that they give a good tint.
It was my own fault, I wasn't careful. I had done it before but the tint was gone within hours. So this one time I dumped it in there but it was definitely too much in hindsight.

 

Did you use purified water? You should also take the leaves out of the prepared solution after boiling it. Once its boiled and the leaves are removed, after the water cools down you should pour it though a coffee filter to keep any debris out of the jar. I noticed that my jars have a little cloudiness at the bottom but its not cloudy throughout the entire mix and looks more like biofilm that settled. I also second the "if it looks questionable, throw it out and do it again".

 

I already have like 15 leaves on the bottom of my tank, but it's not giving me the dark effect I want.

Does your filter have carbon in it?

 

Did you use purified water? You should also take the leaves out of the prepared solution after boiling it. Once its boiled and the leaves are removed, after the water cools down you should pour it though a coffee filter to keep any debris out of the jar. I noticed that my jars have a little cloudiness at the bottom but its not cloudy throughout the entire mix and looks more like biofilm that settled. I also second the "if it looks questionable, throw it out and do it again".

I used filtered water to boil it, yeah. I think it's just biofilm; it seems to collect more at the top.

Does your filter have carbon in it?

nope, I just have a sponge filter. they're minI almond leaves and they don't seem to be as deep a colour as the bigger kind. they do turn the water a little yellow, but not as much as i'd like.

 

There is a lot of room for more leaves

 

There is a lot of room for more leaves

I know haha but I like to remove the leaves when I gravel vacuum so I can get everything. if I have a ton of leaves then I'll have to remove all of them ops:

 

I know haha but I like to remove the leaves when I gravel vacuum so I can get everything. if I have a ton of leaves then I'll have to remove all of them ops:

I just leave them in the tank. I have never removed a leaf. They just decay and there is no observable negative effect on the tank.

 

I still have some old leaves in my tank that I put in a month ago.
They are completely decayed, starting to decompose. The pleco loves it.

 

I used filtered water to boil it, yeah. I think it's just biofilm; it seems to collect more at the top.

I'll take a pic of mine when get home to compare for what it's worth

 

I just leave them in the tank. I have never removed a leaf. They just decay and there is no observable negative effect on the tank.
View attachment 460365

I still have some old leaves in my tank that I put in a month ago.
They are completely decayed, starting to decompose. The pleco loves it.

oh, i'm definitely gonna keep the leaves in there until they're completely gone, I just take them out temporarily during a pwc to clean the sand better. my gravel vacuum likes to suck the leaves up. but see, that's the colour i'd like to go for!!!!

I'll take a pic of mine when get home to compare for what it's worth

thanks! i'm boiling a new batch right now and will strain it with a coffee filter. i'm gonna compare the two batches.


can I use the boiled leaves in my tank? i'm assuming it'd be okay.

 

can I use the boiled leaves in my tank? i'm assuming it'd be okay.

Yes, they just won't have as much potency as the dried ones.

 

I have to say the picture is deceiving. It’s early morning shot with my light emitting more reds.

I think you wouldn’t need to gravel vac but understand if you looking are for the flawless look.
Check into adding peat moos or alder cones as media in your filter. They will leach tannins without cluttering the display.

I second you can add the boiled leaves. They will decay a bit faster though.

 

here's a comparison between the new vs old batch. it just got done boiling.




one more thing: am I supposed to refrigerate the tannin extract?

 

These are my jars I've prepared from the beginning of the week. The small darker jar has the leaves in it that I boiled with some water to keep leeching tannins. The other 2 are just the extract. I tried using an led lamp behind it to show how clear it is and it does look pretty dense but in person still doesn't look cloudy aside from what's settled on the bottom.

 

These are my jars I've prepared from the beginning of the week. The small darker jar has the leaves in it that I boiled with some water to keep leeching tannins. The other 2 are just the extract. I tried using an led lamp behind it to show how clear it is and it does look pretty dense but in person still doesn't look cloudy aside from what's settled on the bottom.

DANG that one is super black!! that's what I tried doing with the first batch -- leaving the leaves in there to hopefully leech more tannins even after boiling -- but it just turned murky instead.

 

DANG that one is super black!! that's what I tried doing with the first batch -- leaving the leaves in there to hopefully leech more tannins even after boiling -- but it just turned murky instead.

Well it's got like 8 to 10 leaves in it bigger then your hand so that's what your seeing Haha I did it more as an experiment to see if it would do anything, at the least leeching more tannins. I'm curious to see how the leaves decompose and how quickly and what the concentration ends up looking like. I leave it in my windowsill so the sun hits it too.

 

welp, the new batch turned cloudy in a few hours. idk man.

 

Maybe the batch of leaves? Any chance to try something different?

 

I think cloudy is normal. It clears up once inside the tank. Boiled leaves last for weeks to months and continue releasing tannins. Check out tannin aquatics for a huge variety of botanicals, a lot last longer and are even more potent than leaves

 

welp, the new batch turned cloudy in a few hours. idk man.

I was going to suggest maybe the leaves you're using as well.

 

I agree that Tannin Aquatics are a fabulous source for all things black water. Great leaves, pods, etc...
You might want to try adding a few Adler cones as well, they give a beautiful color. I usually boil my leaves for about 10 minutes and add the water and the leaves as soon as the water is room temp. I also leave my leaves in to breakdown.

 

Here are some pics of my tank.