Help - Mixing Chemicals.

Ok, just about the time I think I am starting to understand this, I screwed something up and I am now totally lost. I need help. Somewhere I really messed up and ruined 3 rolls of 120 film.

I tried developing 3 rolls of Efke R25 120 film in a Jobo 2509 tank. I am using Arista Premium Liquid Film Developer. The mix ratio for this developer is 1:9. The 2509 tank has a capacity of 90 ounces to properly cover 3 reels of film. So I mixed 81 ounces of water and 9 ounces of film developer and proceeded to develop my film for 5 1/2 minutes, which is what the Freestyle database indicated for this combination. I use a nice little aquarium heater to maintain my solution temps close to 68 degrees.

What came out the other end was totally and completely clear. There is nothing but clear film base left. So obviously something went wrong, but I am not sure what. It has been a very long time since I was in school, and I was certainly not a math whiz then, but I didn't think I was that bad. Guess I better think again.

This was my first go with the Jobo tank and the Arista Premium Developer. All my previous attempts have been made using one reel in a small tank using a Rodinal solution mix that I copied from some article somewhere. Those previous attempts turned out successful, so I am obviously good at following simple directions. But, since this was a disaster, I am obviously not so good at photo developing problem solving on my own.

Thanks very much for any help you can give and I would certainly appreciate formulas, or sources for those formulas, where I could expect to enter variables and come up with a correct result. In other words I would like to be able to play around and actually learn how to do this on my own.

Others have posted such problems with Arista Premium Liquid Film Developer on the web. See for example: http://photo.net/black-and-white-photo-film-processing-forum/00WuL6

If the film is really clear, I mean no I.D. markings on the edges, then there is one thing that has happened. You fixed the film prior to developing. This act alone will completly remove all image from the film.

If there is faint image or I.D. markings then the problem is something else and I don't know. Your materials and temperatures & times seem appropriate for correct processing.

My suggestion would be to try a test roll in a smaller tank, to see if the problem has something to do with the large volumes you are using in the JOBO tank.

I second Mr. Osgood's statement.

Developer Gone Bad

All right, a whole different issue.

I mixed the developer quite some time ago, long enough that I forgot when. It appears that the developer has gone bad.

I mixed an entirely new batch this afternoon for a second try and realized that the new batch was clear, the old one was colored a very, murky, brown.

I used the new batch to develop a roll of Ilford FP4 Plus, mixed 1:9, and the roll turned out. It is hanging to dry right now. Sometime tomorrow I'll check it on the light box.

Thanks a lot for all your suggestions.

Glad you figured out your problem.

Now that I have had some success back in the small tank I am going to give the big tank a try again.

I actually think that because the developer had gone bad, my film wasn't even developing at all. Then, once I introduced the fixer I just eliminated any latent image that may have been there so my film came out completely clear.

Ahh well, live and learn. At least I know what bad developer looks like now. Too bad I had to learn that the first time I tried using the big tank.

Do I understand correctly that you diluted the developer concentrate with water some time ago, and then stored the diluted working strength solution?

If so, then you may have learned two lessons from the same problem.

Generally speaking, it is best to leave liquid concentrates undiluted until just before using them. Once used, they should be discarded.

Sorry about your film.

Yes Matt, I learned two lessons today.

Lesson one was what developer looks like (at least Arista Premium) when it goes bad.

Lesson two is not to mix a whole batch of developer and then let it sit around too long. I actually had used this batch a little over a year ago, but have not returned to it since. I bought it as a powder and mixed it up into a one liter, brown, plastic bottle. I thought that it would last but that obviously did not work out too well.

I too am sorry about the film but I have a lot of film sitting around waiting to be developed so I am very glad that I have learned these lessons and figured this out. Now I should be able to go back to the bigger tank and develop more than one roll at a time.

Thanks everyone.

Pioneer:

Now it is me who is confused.

In your original post you indicated that you used Arista Premium Liquid Film Developer.

Was it, instead, the powder version?