Hi All, Our Pebble Sheen is scheduled for next week and the PB is suggesting we add Shimmering Sea or abalone to the mix. Our pool is a remodel, no baja shelf though we do have a spa and a couple seating ledges in addition to steps, and it's 6.5 to 7 feet in the deep end. It's $300 for standard abalone mix which isn't a ton of money. My concern is we just aren't going to get a lot of bang for the buck considering the pool depth and lack of a baja shelf. I would love to hear from those of you out there with deeper pools and abalone. What say you?
Is Abalone Worth it in Deep Pools?
- Thread starter Parkerchick
- Start date
TampaKathy
Gold Supporter
I can't speak from personal experience but I've read that abalone can cause staining. If you type "abalone" in the search box you should be able to find some threads about it.
- Jul 17, 2019
- 3,714
- Pool Size
- 13000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
As Kathy mentioned above, we see quite a few posters that report staining from the abalone shells. Likely it is the organics breaking down causing the staining
The general recommendation is to avoid anything that was once alive in your plaster and go with glass or something else nonorganic if you was to add some pop to your finish.
The general recommendation is to avoid anything that was once alive in your plaster and go with glass or something else nonorganic if you was to add some pop to your finish.
- Jul 21, 2013
- 52,486
- Pool Size
- 35000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
Abalone Shell Chips and Brown Stains in Diamond Brite Plaster-
Moved from here... Abalone Shell Chips Causing Brown Stains in Diamond Brite Plaster- Hi, Hopefully I can shed some light on your issues. I am ever too familiar with abalone stains. Here is what I have gathered thus far. So, because abalone is a shell and was once alive, they...
www.troublefreepool.com
Abalone Shell Chips Causing Brown Stains in Diamond Brite Plaster-
I am first time user on TFP and joined up after seeing older post relating to the issues of Abalone Shell Chips causing brown staining in Diamond Brite Plaster. I am not referring to the shells losing their brilliance...this is an actual stain in the plaster around the shell Has anyone else...
www.troublefreepool.com
Stains from Abalone Shell in Plaster
Moved from here. Hello everyone, I am relieved, but also nervous. After months of investigating and troubleshooting the brown staining in my plaster pool, I have finally found the reason after seeing this thread. It’s Abalone shells in the Diamond Brite pool plaster. BTW...my pool is only 1...
www.troublefreepool.com
Yes I have been reading about the staining and was nervous. My PB is a certified Pebble Tec guy and he is telling me he has literally never seen this issue with Pebble Tec products. Several of their upgrades already have abalone Shimmering Seas added to the mix. Has anyone with Pebble Tec seen this issue? Are any of you with abalone able to see any appreciable difference in the deep end of the pool?
I have a 7 year old aqua blue pebble finish and have the abalone shells I have had no staining. My deep end is 7ft deep when the sun is shining on my pool I can see them sparkle even in the deep end.
Thanks Caligrl2, that's exactly what I needed to hear. I'm going to go for it!
- May 23, 2015
- 24,411
- Pool Size
- 16000
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-60
It matters WHERE they get the abalone shell from. As long as it comes from PebbleTec and it is a “pool grade” material, then it should be fine. There are manufacturing techniques that can remove the organic residues from the abalone shell so the brown staining doesn’t happen. It raises the cost of the material but it’s far better to pay a little more up front fir quality materials than face a plaster chip out job a few years done the road. Just ask your plaster installer about it and make sure the materials are from PebbleTec. The installer should have no problems showing you the bags of materials when they arrive on site.