Will a Pool Robot Pick Up Algae? A Neglected Pool Puts the Beatbot AquaSense 2 Ultra to the Test

I’m Nathanael Greene, a pool pro with over 15 years of experience designing, building, and maintaining pools, now spilling my expertise as a blog writer for Beatbot. My pool obsession kicked off with childhood summers cannonballing into my granddad’s Georgia backyard oasis, and it’s since morphed into a career of taming aquatic disasters. 

Living in Tampa, Florida, I’ve seen my share of pool neglect—especially from my neighbor, Jerry, whose 20,000-gallon in-ground pool hadn’t seen a brush since last year’s Super Bowl. On March 2, 2025—just after the Beatbot AquaSense 2 Series dropped in February—I got roped into testing the AquaSense 2 Ultra on his algae-infested swamp. “Will it even touch this mess?” Jerry asked, peering at the green sludge. Here’s how it went, why it’s my top pick for algae battles, and how it stacks up in the AquaSense lineup.

Jerry’s pool—vinyl-lined, kidney-shaped, with a 7-foot deep end—sits next to mine, a stone’s throw from Tampa’s live oaks. He’s a “set it and forget it” guy, and by March, his pool looked like a science experiment gone wrong. A thick green algae blanket coated the surface, walls oozed slime, and the water smelled like a swamp monster’s armpit. 

“I meant to clean it,” he shrugged, sipping a beer on his deck. Neglect had turned it into an algae paradise—perfect for testing the AquaSense 2 Ultra , fresh from its CES 2025 debut. I’d been running it in my pool since February, but Jerry’s cesspit was the real challenge. Time to see if this robot could wrestle algae or just drown trying.

The AquaSense 2 Ultra is Beatbot’s algae-busting heavyweight, armed with HybridSense™ AI Pool Mapping—think 27 sensors (AI camera, infrared, ultrasonics) scanning like a pool detective. I dropped it in on March 3, tapped Pro mode on the Beatbot app (5G/2.4G WiFi), and it dove into Jerry’s green goo. Its 13,400mAh battery—juicier than the 10,400mAh in the AquaSense 2 Pro—offered 8.5 hours of surface skimming or 5 hours of full-on war against floor, walls, waterline, surface, and water clarity. With 11 motors churning 5500 GPH suction, dual-side brushes, and a 265mm roller, it attacked the slime. The ClearWater Clarification System dropped chitosan—a crab-shell magic trick—to clump algae bits for the 150μm+250μm filters to snag.

It mapped Jerry’s kidney curves in minutes, dodging a floating flip-flop he’d lost last summer. After 3 hours, the 3.7-liter basket was a green gunk treasure trove—way more than the 2.5-liter AquaSense 2 Pro could’ve stomached. By March 5, after a second run, the pool was shockingly clean—walls scrubbed, surface clear, water almost swimmable (a chlorine shock finished the job). Compared to the AquaSense 2 ($1,499), a 3-in-1 lightweight skipping surface and clarification, or the 2 Pro ($2,499) with 5-in-1 but less AI punch, the Ultra’s $3,450 tag felt like a steal for this algae Armageddon.

At 24 pounds, the Ultra’s a chunky champ—yanking it out of Jerry’s pool was like wrestling a wet toddler. Smart Surface Parking floated it to the edge, but Jerry, not exactly Mr. Fitness, huffed, “This thing’s heavier than my dog!” It’s beefier than the 22-pound AquaSense 2, and more powerful. WiFi’s 2.4GHz-only glitched once in his shady yard—mid-run, it lost signal, and I had to fish it out manually (cordless life, same as the 2 and 2 Pro). Jerry, new to robots, didn’t charge it fully post-unboxing in March—first run fizzled early. “Charge it like your phone, overnight,” I said, docking it for 4.5 hours. The basket? Packed with slime after one pass—Jerry waited too long to rinse, and it stank like a fish market. Quick rinse next time, pal.

The AquaSense 2 Series, hot off February 2025, offers three tiers—I’ve tested them all. The AquaSense 2 (10,000mAh, 4-hour runtime) is a budget buddy for light algae—fine if your pool’s not a swamp like Jerry’s. The AquaSense 2 Pro brings 5-in-1 cleaning and more juice, but its 20 sensors and smaller basket would’ve struggled with this green monster. The Ultra’s AI—adaptive paths for Jerry’s curves, algae-spotting smarts, and Multi-Platform mode (OTA-updated by March)—plus that clarifier, made it the algae slayer. The 2 Pro might’ve managed, but the Ultra’s brute force and finesse turned Jerry’s disaster into a win faster.

By March 5, Jerry’s pool was back from the dead—no elbow grease, no “help me, Nate” pleas—the AquaSense 2 Ultra crushed it. At $3,450, it’s a wallet-whopper—twice the AquaSense 2’s $1,499 and $950 over the 2 Pro’s $2,499. But for algae jungles or Tampa’s storm-prone pools, it’s gold. The 24-pound heft and WiFi quirks? Minor gripes—Smart Surface Parking and app updates keep it slick. For lighter algae, the AquaSense 2 or 2 Pro hold their own. Jerry’s now a believer—“Beats scrubbing ‘til my arms fall off!”—and I’m sold too. Childhood me would’ve called it a pool superhero; adult me just nods and recommends it to anyone facing an algae invasion. Beatbot’s Ultra is the real deal.