Instapark Betta review

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djpool21 said:
I bought a SE Plus on an Amazon flash sale a few weeks ago and it's been great! Last year I tried a Betta SE but returned it after various strange operation problems and getting stuck on my cleaner pressure hose. I no longer use the pressure cleaner so I thought I would give the Betta another try.
Although I didn't expect to use the charger, we had several days of cloudy weather when the unit arrived so I used the charger several times and was glad it had the capability.

How does your Betta perform in choppy waters? When I run the bubblers or even create a little chop the robot will go forward 3-4 feet and then reverse for 3-4 feet and then repeat this cycle until the water is calm again. Just trying to determine if there's a problem with my SE Plus or if this is normal.
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The only issue I have is when I have the skimmer open fully (adding some CYA in a skimmer sock right now) and it tends to get stuck at the entrance. We sometimes leave it in when swmming but the choppy water does not seem to negatively impact it too much.
 
Just got the Betta SE on amazon, and it's exceeded expectations! I was SLAMing my pool and finally realized the lingering cloudiness might be from pollen and gunk from the trees--after a few hours in the pool I finally had clear water and was able to finish the SLAM. Just had a big storm with tons of leaves in the pool, but she's doing a pretty good job. No issues getting caught on anything, except occasionally the cord for the dolphin active 20 robot--but they usually untangle themselves on their own.
 
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Fenchurch23 said:
No issues getting caught on anything, except occasionally the cord for the dolphin active 20 robot--but they usually untangle themselves on their own.
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Be careful about that. I usually take the Betta out of the pool when I run the cleaner. When I opened the pool in 2023 I decided to run both at the same time. All was well for a while but then the Betta got stuck on the cleaner cord. After that the Betta wouldn't operate correctly and I had to send it in for a warranty claim.
 
I charged the plus on the first day and it's been running nonstop for about a week and a half. It really does a great job. I haven't had to skim the pool yet.
 
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Bbp said:
I charged the plus on the first day and it's been running nonstop for about a week and a half. It really does a great job. I haven't had to skim the pool yet.
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Mine "only" lasts 48-60 hours 🤣, but I have 85% shade for half a day. It's sooo much better than my Better 2. Only issue so far is it seems to go into solid green mode, stationary, occasionally. An off-on fixes it for a while. I don't use the remote, so not sure what's happening.
 
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tcat said:
Mine "only" lasts 48-60 hours 🤣, but I have 85% shade for half a day. It's sooo much better than my Better 2. Only issue so far is it seems to go into solid green mode, stationary, occasionally. An off-on fixes it for a while. I don't use the remote, so not sure what's happening.
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I haven't tried the remote yet.

I had an SE last summer for about 3 days. It quit working and just flashed lights, I sent it back.
 
Can anyone recommend a chlorine tab dispenser wide or tall enough to avoid contact with Betta's paddlewheel? I know of the sinking variety, but they come up to float eventually anyway.

(FWIW - Yes, I do mostly use liquid chlorine, but when my CYA is low I might as well substitute tabs)
 
Gyre said:
Can anyone recommend a chlorine tab dispenser wide or tall enough to avoid contact with Betta's paddlewheel? I know of the sinking variety, but they come up to float eventually anyway.

(FWIW - Yes, I do mostly use liquid chlorine, but when my CYA is low I might as well substitute tabs)
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Just put them in the Betta basket, or switch to salt.
 
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Bbp said:
I charged the plus on the first day and it's been running nonstop for about a week and a half. It really does a great job. I haven't had to skim the pool yet.
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Mine has been going for about a week but was dead this morning for the first time. I’m guessing despite the solar there’s a slow discharge since I have shade a fair part of the day, but easy enough to plug it in while I let my other corded robot do the bottom.

That new Beatbot looks like so much fun, but my Pentair-branded Dolphin is still going strong after 4 years, makes no sense to replace it.
 
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tcat said:
Just put them in the Betta basket, or switch to salt.
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That sounds like an interesting idea but I'm not sure I would do it. Before switching to salt I had a Heyward chlorinator that I put pucks in. The inside of it got really nasty from the pucks. It may be fine but I wouldn't risk it in the Betta. The last thing we need is to give them a reason to deny a warranty claim.

I still have some of the pucks and am looking for a way to use them up in order to bump CYA. I tried a floater that I had and it also wanted to fight with the paddlewheel. If there is a solution I would like to hear it.
 
Katodude said:
I thought I heard somewhere that the round thing in the middle of the basket is actually designed to hold a puck.
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Actually when I first removed the basket, that thought crossed my mind Why is it round? I can see that support is needed there to prevent sagging of the mesh. It could have been made a diamond or a square but it is a circle which corresponds to the shape of a puck.
I have not put a puck in it but it makes sense.
 
HermanTX said:
Actually when I first removed the basket, that thought crossed my mind Why is it round? I can see that support is needed there to prevent sagging of the mesh. It could have been made a diamond or a square but it is a circle which corresponds to the shape of a puck.
I have not put a puck in it but it makes sense.
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I just did a chat with them. They said there is no problem putting a puck in the basket and the round part in the basket is a puck holder.
 
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Jump start your Beta with a garden hose.

We had a storm last night and I wanted both my betas running this morning to get the remaining pine needles they didn’t get last night. My beta SE plus was still chugging along because it never seems to die, ever. My older beta 3 however was floating in the pool flashing its one good light red like it does every morning. I wanted the 3 to charge, but the suns still behind some clouds, so I needed to give it some charge to get it going again.
Which leads me to this trick, that I have known about for a while but have always just forgot to post here. That trick being that there is an alternate undocumented way to charge the batteries of these things with a garden hose. All you have to do is spin up the props really fast with a garden hose. The lights (or light on Popeye here at my house) will light up red. When it does this it apparently is also charging the battery. I only had to do this for a few minutes again to get it jumpstarted this morning. Anyway figured this might help folks out that don’t have an SE plus and want to try and jump start their Betas when they are refusing to run with the flashing red lights.

EDIT: Don’t know if this is a good idea or not (I am from South Carolina after all) just know it works as a jumpstart if it’s not completely dead.
 
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DanF said:
Oops I.must not have the SE Plus. I have the latest that doesn't come with a charger.
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It’s good to know those run all day as well! I kinda skipped ownership of that one somehow myself….. anyway if it ever starts flashing red, try the hose trick.
 
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