EuroCover Water Systems

Hexprotect® AQUA — pre-ballasted hexagonal floating cover

Hexprotect® AQUA — AWTT's pre-ballasted hexagonal cover. One-piece moulded HDPE, 99% coverage, 25+ year life, NSF/ANSI food-grade. EU-distributed.

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Authentic Original NSF/ANSI food-grade FDA-compliant formulations available EU Water Framework Directive compatible

Hexprotect® AQUA is AWTT’s pre-ballasted, fully contained hexagonal floating cover — (the pre-ballasted variant) as the workhorse of the AWTT product family and the most-sold AWTT cover worldwide. Distributed and supported across the EU by EuroCover Water Systems. The specifications on this page are mirrored from the manufacturer at awtti.com.

What is Hexprotect® AQUA?

Hexprotect® AQUA is a one-piece moulded HDPE hexagonal element designed to tessellate across the surface of an industrial water body without anchors and without draining. Unlike earlier self-ballasting covers, each AQUA element is pre-ballasted with potable water at the factory — the ballast is fully contained inside the moulded shell, so it cannot tip, leak, or be lost in service. AWTT publishes 99% effective surface coverage when fully tessellated, and the design tolerates irregular shorelines without leaving wedge gaps.

The pre-ballasted, fully-contained design dissipates wind energy without anchor systems and avoids the inside-chamber problem of older self-ballasting covers (where standing water inside an open chamber promoted algae and bacterial growth).

How Hexprotect® AQUA works

  • Material: Virgin HDPE with a UV and oxidation additive package, engineered for the most demanding environments and a 25+ year life span. NSF/ANSI food-grade and FDA-compliant formulations available for potable applications.
  • Shell: One-piece moulded — no seams, no inside chamber, no recessed surfaces. Debris and dirt shed naturally, so the cover stays clean over time.
  • Geometry: AWTT publishes a 220 mm (8.7”) hexagonal element with raised central dome for rainfall shedding and wind dissipation.
  • Ballast: Pre-ballasted with potable water inside the moulded shell — fully contained; cannot be lost when the float tips.
  • Coverage: 99% effective surface coverage at full tessellation (AWTT-published).
  • Wind: AWTT certifies the cover to 130+ MPH (209+ km/h); the cover can be specified hurricane-rated. Self-loading factor 260%+ under wind.
  • Installation: Anchorless. Launched from shoreline; self-distributes via natural water motion. Identical install process to Hexofloat®.
  • Maintenance: None required — no moving parts, no power consumption, no recessed surfaces to accumulate sediment.

Why the original matters

The hexagonal form factor has been copied. The patented engineering has not. Hexprotect® AQUA brings validated wind resistance, lifecycle proof, NSF/ANSI food-grade certification, and replacement-parts compatibility that copies do not. See our heritage page for the full provenance chain — including the original 2010 Hexprotect® patent and the engineering reasons AQUA replaced it — visit pond-cover.com for the AWTT engineering detail and patent history, or visit the manufacturer at awtti.com.

Use cases

  • Industrial reservoirs (evaporation + algae control)
  • Mining tailings (evaporation + dust control)
  • Wastewater treatment (odor + emission control)
  • Anaerobic digesters (heat retention + odor)
  • Agricultural irrigation storage (evaporation control)
  • Potable water reservoirs (NSF/ANSI food-grade variant for algae control)
  • Hot wells and cooling ponds (heat retention)
  • Hurricane-exposed sites (AWTT 130+ MPH certified)

Hexprotect® AQUA vs. Hexofloat®

EuroCover offers two hexagonal covers. Hexprotect® AQUA is the workhorse — original AWTT design, 25+ year validated life, hurricane-rated, NSF/ANSI food-grade by default. Hexofloat® is EuroCover’s EU-engineered, EuroCover-tooled alternative (AWTT design-approved) with a 190 mm tile, ~30% lighter shell, 15-year life, 75 MPH wind resistance, and 3–6 week EU lead times. Both share the hexagonal-tessellation working principle and install identically; the choice usually comes down to durability / wind-exposure requirements vs lead time and EU origin. See the Hexprotect® AQUA vs. Hexofloat® side-by-side.

Compatibility

Compatible with existing reservoir geometries; deployable on water bodies with irregular shorelines, inflows, and outflows. Removable for cleaning, inspection, or relocation. Stackable for transport. AWTT publishes an operating temperature range of −57 °C to +71 °C (−70 °F to +160 °F).

Lead time

Typically 2–8 weeks for EU delivery, depending on whether the order ships from EU stock or US manufacture. Larger custom orders sit at the upper end of that range.

Specifications

The full AWTT-mirrored specification table appears at the foot of this page (grouped by dimensions, performance, material, environmental, design, certification, and lifecycle). Project-specific deployment calculations (element count, transport plan, installation schedule) are issued in the project quotation.

Specifications

Tile diameter220 mm (8.7 in)
Tile weight (installed)490–510 g
Tile density28 tiles/m² (2.61 tiles/ft²)
Buoyancy39 kg/m² (8 lb/ft²)
Surface coverage99 %
Wind resistance130+ MPH (209+ km/h), certified
Self-loading factor (under wind)260%+ weight increase under wind
Evaporation reductionup to 95%
Heating cost reductionup to 85%
Sunlight blocking (algae control)99 %
MaterialVirgin or recycled HDPE (FDA/NSF-approved formulations available)
Tensile strength4000 PSI
Melting point129 Cel (264 [degF])
Chemical compatibilityNo leaching of PFAS, BPA, BPS, BPF
Operating temperature range-57–71 Cel (-70–160 [degF])
CertificationsNSF/ANSI food-grade; FDA-compliant formulations available
Life expectancy25+ years
Manufacturer warranty10 years
MaintenanceNone required
BallastPre-ballasted with potable water (fully contained — no ballast loss when float tips)
Shell constructionOne-piece moulded HDPE shell (no inside chamber promoting algae or bacterial growth)
Surface profileNo recessed surfaces — debris- and dirt-shedding; stays clean over time
Material gradeVirgin HDPE with UV and oxidation additive package (for most demanding environments and long life span)
InstallationAnchorless — modular tiles tessellate on the water surface

Specifications mirrored from the manufacturer AWTT — awtti.com.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hexprotect® AQUA? #
Hexprotect® AQUA is AWTT's pre-ballasted hexagonal floating cover, (the pre-ballasted variant). Each one-piece moulded HDPE element is filled with potable water as integrated ballast — fully contained, debris-shedding, and engineered for the most demanding industrial reservoirs. It tessellates at 99% effective surface coverage and reduces evaporation, algae, odor, and heat loss.
Who manufactures Hexprotect® AQUA? #
Hexprotect® AQUA is manufactured by AWTT (awtti.com), the original patent holder. EuroCover Water Systems is the EU distribution and support partner.
What's the difference between Hexprotect® and Hexprotect® AQUA? #
The original Hexprotect® (patented by AWTT) was the world's first self-ballasting hexagonal floating cover. Its inside chamber promoted algae and bacterial growth, the float could lose its water ballast when tipped, and shell durability was lower than later AWTT designs. Hexprotect® AQUA — the pre-ballasted, fully-contained variant — solves all three: ballast can't be lost, no inside chamber means no algae harbour, and the one-piece moulded shell is the most durable in the product family. AQUA is now the workhorse and the most-sold AWTT cover.
How does it compare with EuroCover's own Hexofloat® cover? #
Hexprotect® AQUA is the most durable choice — 25+ year life expectancy, 130+ MPH wind certification, NSF/ANSI food-grade by default. Hexofloat® is EuroCover's EU-engineered alternative: ~30% lighter, ~30% thinner shell, 15-year life, 75 MPH wind resistance, with shorter EU lead times (3–6 weeks). Choose AQUA for hurricane-exposed sites and longest demanded life; choose Hexofloat® when lead time or EU origin is the binding constraint. See the side-by-side comparison for full detail.
Is it safe for drinking water? #
Yes — Hexprotect® AQUA can be specified in NSF/ANSI food-grade HDPE with FDA-compliant formulations, and the element itself is pre-ballasted with potable water. Confirm the certification scope appropriate to your jurisdiction with EuroCover before procurement.
How is it installed? #
Anchorless. Elements are launched from the shoreline in batches and self-distribute via natural water motion — no draining of the water body, no anchors, no mooring.
What's the lead time? #
Typically 2–8 weeks for EU delivery, depending on the origin warehouse (EU stock or US manufacture). Larger custom orders sit at the upper end of that range. EuroCover confirms the exact lead time at quotation.