Green fixer! Can I reuse it?

[welly]

I've been shooting with a lot of Fomapan 100, which seems to turn all my chemicals green after use. I'm hoping to start re-using my fixer as I appear to be going through the stuff like its going out of fashion lately. However, my concern is that the fixer turns a slight shade of green after fixing Fomapan film, and whether that will have any affect on its re-use with Foma film or other film types? (I pretty much use only Foma and TMax 100). I'm currently using Fomafix (it was cheap and locally available) although my usual fixer is Ilford Rapid Fixer.

Cheers!

Welly

[C. D. Keth]

Yeah, it's fine. I've been using increasingly green fixer since October.

[photobymike]

Taste it ...does it tast salty? its still good....... just kidding but old time photographers could tell if there fixer was good by taste..... there skin has turned grayish over time.... if fixer is cheap why re-use? ... Do you pre wash your film before developing.... i do for five minutes.. the green is the antihalation barrier of the film washing away.... i use foma and tmax all the time and i have never seen green fixer.

[welly]

Taste it ...does it tast salty? its still good....... just kidding but old time photographers could tell if there fixer was good by taste..... there skin has turned grayish over time.... if fixer is cheap why re-use? ... Do you pre wash your film before developing.... i do for five minutes.. the green is the antihalation barrier of the film washing away.... i use foma and tmax all the time and i have never seen green fixer.

I haven't done any pre-washing before only because I hear mixed opinions on whether pre-washing is a good idea or not, so have erred on the side of caution. Perhaps I should do? I'd like to re-use my fixer mainly because it feels like a waste of money if I throw it rather than reusing it, despite it only being $5 a bottle! Foma fix is 1:5 dilution and only comes in smallish bottles so I can see my apartment filling with empty Fomafix bottles at this rate! But anyway, just bought some Ilford Rapid Fixer and so will mix up a bottle of that and start re-using my chemicals! (fixer anyway)

Cheers all

[Ari]

Even if it's inexpensive, there's no reason to waste anything; use your chemicals until they are nearly exhausted, unless doing so might result in poor development.
I figure each dime and quarter I save can be put toward film.

As to the green colour, yes, it's the anti-halation dye, and it's very safe to do a one-minute pre-soak; I do two of them for every film, even colour negs.

[Doremus Scudder]

Welly,

The green in your fix is either left-over anti-halation dye or one of the sensitizing dyes in the emulsion. FWIW, T-Max films tend to turn my fixer slightly pink.

The dyes should in no way negatively affect the activity of the fixer.

I assume you are doing clip tests before each batch anyway in order to determine fixer activity and arrive at a correct fixing time (plus know when the fixer is exhausted). If the clip test is fine, so is the fix, regardless of the color.

If you're not doing clip tests, I'd advise you to start. Toss a piece of scrap film in the fix and note the time it takes to clear. Fix for 3x the clearing time, toss the fix when the clearing time reaches twice that in fresh fix. That's all there is to it; it's easy and accurate and you never have to worry about underfixing again.

Best,

Doremus

[welly]

Welly,

The green in your fix is either left-over anti-halation dye or one of the sensitizing dyes in the emulsion. FWIW, T-Max films tend to turn my fixer slightly pink.

The dyes should in no way negatively affect the activity of the fixer.

I assume you are doing clip tests before each batch anyway in order to determine fixer activity and arrive at a correct fixing time (plus know when the fixer is exhausted). If the clip test is fine, so is the fix, regardless of the color.

If you're not doing clip tests, I'd advise you to start. Toss a piece of scrap film in the fix and note the time it takes to clear. Fix for 3x the clearing time, toss the fix when the clearing time reaches twice that in fresh fix. That's all there is to it; it's easy and accurate and you never have to worry about underfixing again.

Best,

Doremus

Thanks for the tip, Doremus! So I just get a sheet of film - perhaps I can cut it up into slices and store the remainder for future use? - and expose it in day light and then chuck it in the fixer? Or just throw it in as is? That sounds easy enough!

[photobymike]

I have never heard anything bad about a pre wash ....i do it for 5 minutes with 2 or 3 dumps and refill in 5 minutes.... i use distilled water at temperature. I dont know what is in your water down under but if you use distilled water to mix your fixer.....i bet it will last longer. I use distilled water for all of my photo chemicals.

Where i live they use a chemical called chloramine in our drinking water ... i am really glad they do but the city cautions not to let your pets drink it....mmm Well anyway i have been scuba diving in the counties reservoir... and i have peed in the my wetsuit .... Weeki Wachee Springs.

Use distilled water and you will notice a quality diference in your negs.

[Mark Sampson]

Here's some Photo 101 for those who've forgotten.
Don't throw your used-up fixer down the drain. Reclaim the silver! Save the used fixer and take it to a commercial photo lab, where they will be happy to put it through their silver-reclamation process. That way you're not adding to (probably illegal) heavy-metal pollution and you're saving a bit of (scarce) silver. Of course you're giving up the 'profit' from the reclaimed silver but then again, most amateur darkrooms don't have enough through-put to make reclamation economically feasible. Not to mention the effort involved and the nasty smell of reclamation.
Welly, there must be several labs still operating in Sydney; any of them should be happy to take your used-up fixer, no matter its color.

[C. D. Keth]

Thanks for the tip, Doremus! So I just get a sheet of film - perhaps I can cut it up into slices and store the remainder for future use? - and expose it in day light and then chuck it in the fixer? Or just throw it in as is? That sounds easy enough!

It doesn't even need to be the same type of film. I one roll of 35mm B&W periodically and cut it into 1/2" pieces and have test strips for ages.

[welly]

Fantastic, I shall feel like I'm doing "my bit" for the environment by not chucking it away every time! I'm going to start reusing it from tonight!

[John Kasaian]

I believe john nanian who posts here has a product that will take the silver out of your old fixer. Save enough of it and make your honeybuns a nice ring!

[Doremus Scudder]

Thanks for the tip, Doremus! So I just get a sheet of film - perhaps I can cut it up into slices and store the remainder for future use? - and expose it in day light and then chuck it in the fixer? Or just throw it in as is? That sounds easy enough!

I keep any scrap sheets I might have just for doing clip tests. You can do everything in room light. I just cut a 1/4-inch strip off the unnotched end of the film and use that.

A refinement for better determining clearing time: put a drop of fixer on the film emulsion side and let it sit for a while. Then immerse the film in the fix and start timing. The dot will clear faster, since it has been in the fix longer. When the rest of the emulsion clears to the point where you can't detect the dot anymore, the film is clear. Note that time.

One more thing. Fixing times in fresh fix can be quite short at even three times the clearing time. I always use the manufacturer's minimum fixing time as a minimum fixing time, even if it is longer than 3x the clearing time. Also, for large batches (i.e., six sheets or a couple of rolls in the same fix) I add about 10% to the 3x time to compensate for fixer exhaustion during the fixing.

Best,

Doremus