First-timer Fixer/Stop Bath Mixing question

Sorry if this has been discussed to death, I just can't be darned to find an answer to this on Google.
I'm preparing to develop my first roll of film. I already mixed a gallon of D76 to develop some HP5 I've shot. I also have 500ml bottles of Ilford Stop Bath, Fixer, and Kodak Photo-Flo. What I don't understand is how to mix these up for development. I know I need to dilute it 1+19 and 1+4, but how much should I be mixing total if it goes bad in seven days? Enough for one roll? Do I put it in its own bottle? And once I finish developing the roll they say it can be reused, so do I pour it back into its own bottle, even if it only lasts a few days?
My current plan is to mix just enough for my single-roll steel tank (250ml?) and not bother storing it or anything, just put them in measuring cups and dispose of them once I'm done using them.
I feel like I'm asking too many novice questions, it just seems like every discussion I've found about this has just been about different dilutions and weird methods some people have been using for decades. Any help would be appreciated

Welcome to APUG and film developing.

If you haven't already done so, you should download the data sheet for the developer, and read the Ilford website information for the stop bath and fixer. The Ilford website also has a Getting Started section that you should read and maybe print out sections of: Dead Link Removed

Once mixed to working strength, some chemicals are designed to be re-used until they have been used up.

Once mixed to working strength, some chemicals can be re-used under some circumstances.

And once mixed to working strength, some chemicals should be used just once ("one-shot").

The Photo-flo is best if you just put two drops in a litre or so, use it that day for as many rolls as you are developing that day, and then discard it. The concentrate should last a very long time.

The Ilford data will tell you what the capacity of the fixer is in rolls per gallon/litre. You should mix up one litre/34 oz and keep and re-use the working strength fixer in a bottle. Use the capacity information in the data as a guide, but do regular clip testys, as described here, to ensure the fixer is still good: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Stp bath should basically be used "one-shot". If you are going to do a bunch of development over a couple of days, you can re-use it over a day or two, but longer than that isn't a good idea.

If you are just developing a couple of rolls in a day, it should be fine to mix it 1+39 instead, and discard after use.

D76 is more complex. Many people use it diluted instead of at stock dilution. That permits development of more rolls, but you must use it one-shot if you do. You also need to be sure that you use at least 250 ml of stock (before dilution) per roll in your tank.

If you re-use the D76, you need to follow the instructions for increasing times.

Empty soda bottles with screw on lids and clear labels make good storage containers. Datatainers or other containers designed for photography are also good. Do not use the accordion bottles.

Joey,

I'll start with the developer. I assume you've mixed the D-76 stock. Most of us use D-76 at the 1+1 dilution one shot. Mix as much as you need for each batch (roll or rolls, number of sheets at one time, etc.). Try to store the stock in multiple bottles so that only one is exposed to air at a time (the rest can be filled to the brim, thus preventing oxidation and making it last longer).

Stop bath: If you have the Ilford citric acid stop bath, you should try to mix just what you'll use in a short time (say a week). Citric acid, since it's organic, will grow mold and bacterial slime. I use mine one-shot and keep it quasi-economical by mixing 2/3 strength. If you have an acetic-acid stop bath, you can mix, say, 500ml and just use and reuse it till it reaches exhaustion (when the indicator just starts to change from yellow to blue if you use an indicator stop bath).

Working-strength fixer can be kept for much longer than one week (the 7-day recommendation is for an open tray, it'll last a month or more in a half-full stoppered bottle). So, you can mix, say a liter or so and then use it repeatedly on film till it's capacity or shelf-life has been reached. That said, I like to use fixer one-shot as well, so I try to mix just what I need for a batch and save film to process till I have a large enough batch to use 500ml of working-strength fixer. If you just develop a few rolls/sheets at a time, the former method is best. Remember, keep separate working-strength fixers for film and prints!

Take a look here for more info on capacities, etc. http://www.ilfordphoto.com/Webfiles/2006130218312091.pdf

Best,

Doremus

Thanks for the tips, guys! I think this is enough information to get me started with my first roll today!
I'm going to develop it in my basement bathroom, which is pretty small and has a ground-level window and this fan in the ceiling for ventilation. Should this be enough for the innocuous chemistry I'm using? I can also add a plug-in floor fan if need be. Also this bathroom I'm using is right next to the laundry room, which my mom's using right now and she's all worried about the fumes getting into the vents and making clothes smell bad. Are the smells really strong enough to do that?

One thing I don't see mentioned in all the good tips here is that D-76's PH will change over time during storage causing an increase in negative contrast. Therefore, a roll developed in fresh D-76 will not have the same contrast as a roll developed with stock sitting for, say, 2 months. I don't use this developer very often nowadays, but back when I used it regularly I would dump the stock after one month of storage. If I want to use it for some reason today, I mix it from scratch. Just something to be aware of, anyway...

Best regards,
AlanH

That's good to know, Alan. I'll use that to my advantage, maybe develop certain rolls with older batches of developer if I want more contrast.
And for mixing Fixer, should I pour it and the water together in a graduated cylinder, then into their bottles and just let it sit, or stir/shake it?

Hello Joey and welcome to APUG. Good luck with your first rolls.

Big Joey said:

Thanks for the tips, guys! I think this is enough information to get me started with my first roll today!
I'm going to develop it in my basement bathroom, which is pretty small and has a ground-level window and this fan in the ceiling for ventilation. Should this be enough for the innocuous chemistry I'm using? I can also add a plug-in floor fan if need be. Also this bathroom I'm using is right next to the laundry room, which my mom's using right now and she's all worried about the fumes getting into the vents and making clothes smell bad. Are the smells really strong enough to do that?

Click to expand...

Just open the window and, if you are really worried, use the floor fan to exhaust the air.

It is all reasonably innocuous - use the same sort of care that your mom uses with the stuff she uses in the laundry, and you should be fine.

The stop bath is the only one that has much smell, and then only in the concentrated stock.

The fixer has a small amount of odor, but it shouldn't be much of an issue unless you spill it, and then you can use water and standard kitchen cleaners to clean it up.

If you spill fixer on your clothes it can stain them if you don't rinse and clean them fairly promptly. An apron is handy.

as Matt suggested above.Keep in mind using chemicals one-shot gives you the best consistency.ith reusing chemicals, you are always running the risk to over extend the chemical's capacity limit,especially dangerous with fixer;compared to lost negatives and time,chemicals are extremely cheap.Avoid false economy.