Betta~$314
Betta SE
Surface skimmer · 30 h skimming
- Pool fit
- Skims all day; no pool-size limit
- Filtration
- 200 µm · sand, grit and leaves
- Retrieval
- Floats; lifted by hand
- 30 h runtime
- 200 µm basket
- Solar only
Cleans: Surface
Surface skimmer~$331Betta
Betta SE Plus
The SE Plus is the SE with an AC adapter as a backup, which charges it in 3.5 hours when the sun will not. Otherwise it is the same 30-hour skimmer with a 200-micron basket and twin salt-tolerant motors.
Approx. price
~$331
snapshot, not a live price
Skims all day; no pool-size limit
Floats; lifted by hand
30 h skimming
Best for: Skimming in climates with cloudy stretches
Specifications
- Approx. price
- ~$331
- Type
- Surface skimmer
- Power
- Solar, with battery
- Cleans
- Surface
- Maker's pool claim
- 60 ft / 2,400 sq ft
- Charge time
- 3.5 h
- Finest filter
- 200 µm
- Filtration tier
- Sand, grit and leaves
- Filter
- 200 µm fine-mesh basket
- Warranty
- 1 year
- Cost per swim season
- $331 floor
A specification not listed here is one Betta does not publish for this model. It is left blank rather than estimated or borrowed from a sibling.
Features
- Solar or AC adapter charging
- 3.5-hour adapter charge
- 30+ hours per charge
- 200 µm fine-mesh basket
- Shallow-water safeguard
What it does well
- Adapter backup for cloudy weeks
- 3.5 hours on the adapter, against six for the Surfer S2
- Same 30+ hours per charge as the SE, so the adapter adds backup, not runtime
- 200 µm mesh, far finer than the iSkim's 550
What it gives up
- $17 over the SE for the adapter
- One year of cover, the same as the SE and a year short of the Surfer S2
- Remote only; both iSkims, the F1 and the Surfer S2 have apps
The two lists above come from the maker’s own specifications and this site’s arithmetic on them, not from owner reports. Where owner discussion has been read it appears in its own section below, so the two are never mistaken for each other.
What owners say
The SE Plus adds an AC adapter to the SE, charging it in 3.5 hours when there is not enough sun. Owners treat the adapter as a backup they seldom use: one first needed it in August after going in on May 14, another once in five weeks, though in 2026 a Houston owner found a new unit flat most mornings.
On the surface it does what owners bought it for, from leaves under overhanging oaks to weed fluff, pollen and gnats, and one first-time owner has never felt the need to skim. Its frustrations are the Betta family's: it can lodge in a skimmer opening and snag on a floor cleaner's lines.
In full sun the adapter matters less: two owners there who did without the Plus say theirs keeps working on solar alone. Each failure report comes from a single owner: rear propeller motors that broke on an original unit and its warranty replacement, a damaged charging port, and a replacement that Betta said was covered only until the original unit's warranty ran out. Many owners run it beside a floor robot, from Dolphins to an Aiper Seagull Pro.
What owners like
- Solar carries it a long way between wall charges: one owner put it in the pool on May 14, 2024 and first had to charge it from the wall that August, and another plugged in once in about five weeks.
- It clears the surface well under trees: one owner with five overhanging oaks says it catches most leaves before they sink, and a first-time pool owner has never felt the need to skim by hand.
- The plug-in option draws buyers: one owner chose the Plus so it could be plugged in if needed, and an owner of the solar-only SE wished they had paid the extra for it.
- Small debris comes up too: one owner who bought it for leaves and droppings was surprised it also caught pollen and gnats, and another says it handles weed fluff well.
Common complaints
- It can stall in choppy water: in 2024 one new owner saw it go forward about ten seconds, stop and reverse over and over on a windy day, and another Betta owner sees the same in rough water.
- Like other Bettas, it snags on floor cleaners' lines: one Houston owner spent its first couple of weeks dealing with it getting caught on a Polaris line, and other Betta owners report the same with corded Dolphins.
- It can lodge in a skimmer opening: in 2024 one owner was sending theirs back after it stuck there repeatedly, even with the pump turned down and then off, rather than wedge foam into the openings.
- One owner reported in 2026 that a rear propeller motor broke on both their original unit and its warranty replacement, within two seasons of ownership.
- The charging port is a weak spot for one owner, who in 2026 found it damaged after normally unplugging the charger and is returning a second unit within six months of purchase.
Questions owners ask about the Betta SE Plus
How often does the SE Plus need the adapter?
It varies. In 2024 one owner put it in on May 14 and first charged it from the wall that August, another plugged in once in about five weeks, and a third had not needed to after three weeks. In 2026 a Houston owner found a month-old unit flat most mornings, and a manual charge lasted about two days.
Is its stop-and-reverse movement normal?
Betta support told one new owner in 2024 that it was. That owner saw it during the day, with wind, high water and a fountain running, while it drove steadily at night. Another Betta owner finds theirs does it when the water is rough and behaves normally when it is smooth.
Should I get it with a floor robot?
Many owners run one alongside it. One with a Dolphin Proteus DX4 says the Betta cuts how often the vacuum has to run and would buy both again. Corded cleaners are the catch: another Betta owner bought a cordless floor robot because the old cleaner's cord kept getting in the way.
Can it stay in the pool through winter?
One owner who bought it in January 2026 to skim an uncovered pool found that the instruction booklet says to take it out in fall and winter once the water is below 68 degrees, in a passage about recharging. Another Betta owner has noticed the charge does not last as long in cooler weather.
Others in the same part of the catalog
Beatbot~$319
Beatbot iSkim
Surface skimmer · 28 h skimming
- Pool fit
- Skims all day; no pool-size limit
- Filtration
- 550 µm · leaves and bugs only
- Retrieval
- Floats; lifted by hand
- 28 h without sun
- 9 L basket
- 3-year warranty
Cleans: Surface
Aiper~$360
Aiper Surfer S2
Surface skimmer · 35 h skimming
- Pool fit
- Skims all day; no pool-size limit
- Filtration
- 150 µm · sand, grit and leaves
- Retrieval
- Floats; lifted by hand
- 150 µm basket
- 35 h runtime
- $360
Cleans: Surface