danielle_dean Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 I have just moved and am setting up my darkroom in my new house. We have well water that has traces sulfer, lime and iron. Do i need to filter my water before processing film and/or paper (FB)? Also will hooking up a water softener help or hinder? Anyone with experiance in this matter? Any words of wisdom will be greatly appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_hardin Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 Danielle, If I were you, I would purchse one of those pour over water pitcher to make up the fix and stop bath. However, for developers, most use distilled water for both film and paper--I also use distilled water for the final rinse. Hope this helps, Good luck TIM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_macdonald Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 Well I have been developing and printing in my basement since last May. My only option is to use well water (I'm to cheap to pop for the distilled stuff) and I can't really see any difference between the well water and the distilled water. Your best bet would be just to see how the water will affect your negs and prints. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce watson Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 My major concern with well water would be grit. Make sure you filter out the sand and junk. The lime may cause you some problems, but once you establish your processing baseline it should be repeatable. Consider using distilled water to mix your chemicals and dilute your developer since impurities can effect the lives of the solutions, and the ph of the water you use can effect the way the develper works. Use your well water (filtered) for everything else. This might be a good compromise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sergio_caetano1 Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 Danielle I think we all must filter the water (from any source) to be used in photo solutions. How do you know there is sulfur and iron in that water ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_davis2 Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 Lime might move the pH a little. I don't think it would matter much for developers but might for acid fixers. Having said that my tap water is loaded with lime. Likely the big problem will be washing film. The other issue is will the water change depending on the season? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bkpix Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 I've been using really gunky well water for five years -- lots of iron and sulfur and even bits of things. The only place I've had a problem is on final rinse, where I filter the water for the final bath in PhotoFlo to get rid of little specks on the surface of the negs. Figure if I can drink it, I can develop in it. BK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hans_beckert Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 Distilled water is cheap and easily obtainable. For film development, that's what I'd recommend. For the rest of your processing, well water should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frank.schifano Posted November 17, 2003 Share Posted November 17, 2003 Danielle: I'm not one ot go around advocating the use of distilled water for developing. I do, however, use filtered water for all my processing. I use those in line filter devices that you can get from places like Home Depot and rigged it so that I can hook it up to a faucet. No problem. Even the hot water, which in my house is loaded with rust, comes out clean. If you choose to go this route be advised that some developers do not play well with iron in the water - XTOL being the more infamous of the bunch. So if you plan to use XTOL for your film developer, then you might want to use distilled water for that application. Otherwise just filter your water, preferrably though an activated carbon type of filter, and you should be fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_waller Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 You need to remove particles of grit to avoid their geting stuck to the negs, but I think you will also need to remove some of the other contaminants you mention. There is a company called Ametek, based (I think) in Paoli, PA, who make a range of filters. You will probably need a carbon filter to take out the sulphur and iron. I have an Ametek AM2 filter which is a particulates filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aki_dick Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 Danielle, I had stains on my first few self-processed rolls of film done in well water. See <a href="http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=005ePE">here</a>. <br>Then I used distilled water for the developer-, fix- and wetting-bath and the stains dissappeared.<br>By now I ran out of distilled water but the stains never came back, though water here has a high amount of lime.<br>If you want to be sure, run a little test with two films, one done with distilled water and one with tap water and compare the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m._huber Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 Use distilled water for developer. Add a house or tap filter for rest. A water softener does not filter out sediment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennis_oconnor2 Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 I have well water that is harder then the hubs of hell... I use distilled for the developer... Well water for everything else... No problems... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 We have a a saline type water softener in our well pump house. Otherwise everything becomes encrusted with lime scale. We also have a problem with sulphur and a lesser problem with iron. Inside the house I use Brita pitcher filters. Tap or in-line filters would be better. I still occasionally get enough sediment or grit to ruin negatives. More and more I'm using distilled water for film. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike_rosenberg1 Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 Danielle, I am on a well system here in Chapel Hill NC, with a water softner system. The system not only balances the pH, but also removes the iron. Iron in NC clay has been a problem for me, resulting in yellow stains on prints and film. The salt used is "Iron-Out", which removes the iron. I have a 20 micron filter on the house system, and then a 5 micron filter on the hot and cold water to my sink. Rather than lug jugs of distilled water into the house I splurged and bought a RO system, which gives dH2O quality water. I use this for all my film develpers nad the final rinses of my film. I do not use it for paper developer or any other solution. Particulates adhering to film is a big problem, so your final rinse of film should be a soak for a few minutes and then several changes, the last with Photo-Flo. The pH of the water for the film develop should be monitored, as others suggested, if you do not use distilled H2O. Best of luck, Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patrick_gainer Posted November 18, 2003 Share Posted November 18, 2003 I have heard that iron is one cause of XTOL and other developers containing ascorbates going bad. My well has fair amounts of calcium and magnesium which are good for the heart but make any solution containing carbonate cloudy. Another well only about 100 yards away is strongly flavored with sulfur and iron. We in West Virginia share that red clay with North Carolina. I lucked out in that my water seems to come from a bed of gray clay that we call soapstone. Iron Out contains sodium hyposulfite which is a fogging agent for film and paper. You can get it at the soap counter. It is handy as the second developer of a reversal system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnywalker Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 I have been developing films in hard well water for five years with no real problems. Once I got grit (from I and others using too much water too fast), and there is always a spotting problem that Photo Flo solves nicely and neatly. I have iron, calcium and magnesium salts in my water. Possibly your water problems are different than mine, but go for it and try it for a few rolls. Cheers, John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ed_pierce2 Posted November 19, 2003 Share Posted November 19, 2003 I agree it's best to use distilled water for film developer; I'd like to add that the final rinse with photo-flo should also be distilled water. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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