Topic: development foam

[jojonas~]

Wondering if anyone here have experience the liquids foaming up like this when developing? I was kind of worried when the sound of the liquid went more en more silent untill I couldn't hear it at all. I didn't know what to do so I just agitated and so as usual, doing my half-stand development in rodinal.

I guess the lid might have let in some air so I switched to another one. no problems with the fix or stop after that. but still.. could be something else, maybe a crack on the side of the development tank?

oh, and no worries about the film. turned out fine after all. uploaded some to the weekend thread but here's anther shot too

[Pete_R]

Do you use a wetting agent? It looks like there was still some in the tank from the previous use.

[Photo_Utopia]

Wow- is that developer?
That looks like you took wetting agent and shook it in the tank!- wetting agent doesn't need to be heavily agitated, just 2 drops and move the spiral up and down a couple of times.
After each film you should be washing your spirals and tank in plain water and drying them.
I can see you are using a Patteson reel, I have found that in time the spirals get gunk on them and need to be cleaned with a cotton bud.
You could get developer systems cleaner from Kodak but I think it's basically acid and needs good ventilation, and not really for home use.
Regards
mark

[jojonas~]

wetting agent huh? I don't use it but I've heard of it. there's a minimal chance that someone else used the tank but that is very unlikely.
but I do use a bit of soap when I clean everything. maybe there was some of that left in the tank?

[jessthespringer]

Looks like maybe there was a bit of soap left in the tank then.  Gotta be careful with soap, don't think I've ever used any when cleaning the tanks, but I'd suggest a very weak solution in luke warm water and make sure it's really well rinsed.

I put washing up liquid in the dishwasher once. Had a kitchen full of bubbles, which for a small moment looked like an Ibiza foam party. But took days to completely clear.  Lesson learned.

[jojonas~]

hmm, ok. I'll be more carefull in the future then. mostly I'm kind of stressed out when doing the cleaning bit, trying to do it in time for a tram. hehe...

thanks for the help guys! I'm glad that it's not the tank that's the issue

[LT]

yeah: soap = badness.

I dont even use wetting agent in my dev tanks or reels anymore.  I could never quite get it properly rinsed off leading to similar problems.

Someone here a while ago (can't remember who) suggested using wetting agent as a spray, so that's my method now.  I have a fine mist spraybottle filled with wetting agent and liberally soak the film with it once it's attached to the hanging clips.

As for washing tanks, reels etc.  I use very hot water only after every development cycle and wash them in the dishwasher about once per year.

[jojonas~]

the spray sounds like a good idea. I can never get them to dry fast enough now (had a drying cupboard that I used in my previous darkroom).

so leon, do you just spray them and let them drip and dry or do you use something like fingers or a film squeegie to get the water and stuff off?

[Paul Mitchell]

I was told to never pour wetting agent in your tank, instead I now pour diluted wetting agent into a 1L ice cream tub and see saw my film through the liquid, then hang to dry. If you do decide to squeegee your film always, always! wash the blades between each swipe.

Paul

[Francois]

I must admit that I've never seen so much foam in a tank... even after using photo-flo wetting agent!

All my gear simply gets a good clear water rinse before going out to dry. Excess soap can make the reels sticky in the long run. Besides, soap won't do anything good to clean the tank.

Soap is basically a detergent which is used to kill bacteria (provided they added some biocide agents) and remove heavier oils and greases by making them water soluble. Since photo chemicals are none of the above, and that we don't eat off our processing tank, it's just a useless time consuming step.

[jojonas~]

this is all good good information for me, used to have a mentor in the darkroom to point things like this out. I appreciate the help here