illford rapid fixer..... has turned

[clayne]

I've never seen any fixer go black, period - so I don't know what you guys have got going on over there.

Even approaching it scientifically, it's basically ammonium thiosulphate. What actually could make it go black, chemically? Someone like PE or other will have to chime in.

 

[walbergb]

Looks quite normal to me, silver particles plate out on the sides of plastic bottles and glass but it happens quicker and faster with plastics. Ironically it's benificial as it reduces the silver level in the fixer itself.

Ian

That's good to know. I, too, store my fix in plastic containers (reused Kodak chemical bottles from a lab). I use the two-bath fixer system and it was my first bottle of fixer where the bottle turned black. I figured it was the silver particles, but I thought it was a bad thing and time to replace the bottle. I still have the bottle (figured I'd clean it one day), and will put it back into service

 

[Martytoof]

Well I came here to ask this very question, but it turns out I'm not the only one to find their Ilford fixer suddenly dark one day.

Mine has been sitting unused for half a year (I know, so bad) in the laundry room which does experience temperature fluctuations, but it really only turned last night after an unexpected cold wave. At least that's when I first noticed it dark. It was clear a few days ago.

But I've actually been using this batch since 2010 so it's long long overdue for replacement.