Screwed up Negative in a Beseler Drum

Developed my first 4x5 negatives in the volume-of-chemistry-friendly Beseler print drum over the weekend. I have no motor base, so it was constant back-and-forth rolling on the floor of my bathtub. I have a sample of Pyrocat HD from a friend, so I used it to develop two sheets of Tmax 400. One negative looked pretty sweet, and the other came out with a horrible blue-gray band across the middle:



I'm guessing that for whatever reason, the negative just didn't get fixer on that part of the negative. So the questions are:

1) Is this a correct assessment?
2) What am I doing wrong?

Lastly, I'd prefer to keep the solutions to #2 limited to what I can realistically afford. The Beseler drum was free, and my only other option might be a Yankee tank, though I'd prefer not to waste so much chemistry, especially if I want to develop, say, only 2 or 4 sheets.

Thanks, Greg. The problem is that I can get maybe 95% dark - basically, I'm comfortable printing in my makeshift darkroom, but not working with the much more sensitive film sheets. So trays and non-daylight tanks are not an option. I'd really like to be able to use the small volumes of Pyrocat HD (since I have a little bit of the chemistry) required for the Beseler drum.

just a thought it may be the anti-halation layer on the back of the negative - have seen this before. Use fresh fix and I bet it will clear, worth a try I think..if you do a search you will find more on the subject here. good luck

I hope that the diagnoses above are correct and that you can recover this negative. I have found it wise to use more solution to develop negative than is recommended for prints. Sometimes the lesser amount results in uneven or incomplete development. I usually use 200 ml.

Best recommendation is to finish fixing the film in a tray after developing and a quick fix in the tube and wash in a tray afterwards. Tubes aren't great for washing film either.

Supplemental info: Fixer was relatively fresh (had only developed one roll of 35mm prior), and I was using 200 mL chemistry.

Fortunately I shot two of the same scene so I have another shot that's almost identical and correctly processed (still a victim of some dust/scratches thanks to my newbie shooting techniques.