Is this solid Silver?

MingMingPhoto

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Hi - I use this fixer for fiber prints from time to time. I stopped printign for liek a year or two maybe and now there is black stuff in the fixer. IS it silver???

I have a video I'll link (and photos so other ppl reading this in the future can see someting too)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wkskzkf7bdfk64t/IMG_8080.mov?dl=0
 

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Kino

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Yes, it's probably largely silver.
 

grain elevator

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I suspect silver sulfide, not metallic silver, even though it looks similar.
Your wording "use this fixer from time to time" sounds like you used it over a long time? Not ideal, fixer can go bad even before precipitate is visible.
 
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MingMingPhoto

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Why do you think silver sulfied?
And can you explain silver sulfied please?

And yeah I know I wouldn't use it on important prints. Just when I Was pringing for fun. I'd print imporintat prints with fresch chem all the time
 

Andrew O'Neill

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grain elevator

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grain elevator said:
I suspect silver sulfide, not metallic silver, even though it looks similar.
Your wording "use this fixer from time to time" sounds like you used it over a long time? Not ideal, fixer can go bad even before precipitate is visible.
Click to expand...
MingMingPhoto said:
Why do you think silver sulfied?
And can you explain silver sulfied please?

And yeah I know I wouldn't use it on important prints. Just when I Was pringing for fun. I'd print imporintat prints with fresch chem all the time
Click to expand...
I read that here, and just found this quote from Photo Engineer, surely the most knowledgeable poster on such matters this forum has aver had, again in the thread that Andrew linked: "Generally, as fixer ages, it forms sulfur compounds which no longer form soluable complexes with silver".
Also it makes sense to my high school chemistry knowledge.
 
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MingMingPhoto

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Andrew O'Neill said:
Have you done a search here? Read this thread from years ago.
https://www.photrio.com/forum/threads/black-precipitate-in-my-fixer.20809/
Click to expand...
Ohh thank you for sharing! I'll look into this
I see - I'll look and see if I can find the quote in context but you're saying that if you don't pull the silver form the fixer fast the silver can no longer be taken out ever?
Does he describe the sulfer compound as being black and sparkly like showin in the video ISahred?
 

grain elevator

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To "take silver out", you'd need to reduce it. Search the forum for "silver recovery", it has been discussed many times. Sure, you can filter the shiny stuff out, but then what? It's not metallic silver. Anyway none of this makes economic sense for most hobbyists, it's not a lot of silver. If anything its value might be in keeping silver out of the wastewater, but you could also take the fixer to chemical waste collection if that is being done where you are.
 
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