--- url: https://www.pond-cover.com/hexprotect-aqua title: Hexprotect® AQUA — pre-ballasted hexagonal floating cover description: Hexprotect® AQUA — AWTT's pre-ballasted, one-piece moulded hexagonal floating cover. 99% coverage, 130+ MPH wind, 25+ year life, NSF/ANSI food-grade. updated: 2026-05-28 --- # Hexprotect® AQUA — pre-ballasted hexagonal floating cover > AWTT's pre-ballasted, one-piece moulded hexagonal floating cover — the workhorse of the AWTT line since 2009. Hexprotect® AQUA is AWTT's pre-ballasted, one-piece moulded hexagonal floating cover — the workhorse of the AWTT product family since 2009, certified to 130+ MPH wind and a 25+ year service life. ## What is Hexprotect® AQUA? Hexprotect® AQUA is the pre-ballasted variant of AWTT's patented hexagonal floating cover. Each tile is a one-piece moulded HDPE hexagon with a raised central dome, pre-filled at the factory with potable water as fully-contained ballast. Tiles deploy anchorlessly onto an operating water body and self-tessellate at 99% effective surface coverage.
## How it works - **Element geometry.** Each tile is a hexagon with a raised central dome. The dome sheds rainfall toward the seams between adjacent tiles (back into the water body), prevents pooling, and dissipates wind energy. - **Pre-filled ballast.** Replacing the open self-ballasting chamber of the original Hexprotect® with a one-piece moulded shell pre-filled with potable water. The ballast is fully contained inside the shell, so it cannot be lost when the float tips. - **Smooth outer surface.** No recessed areas means debris and dirt shed naturally — critical for keeping the cover clean and effective in the field. - **Tessellation.** Hexagonal footprint packs at 99% effective surface coverage (AWTT-published) when fully laid out — higher than any other modular cover geometry. - **Wind dissipation.** The pre-ballasted, one-piece design dissipates wind energy through controlled lateral motion of individual tiles. No anchors required.
## Benefits | Benefit | Value | Source | |---|---|---| | Surface coverage | 99% effective | AWTT | | Evaporation reduction | up to 95% | AWTT | | Wind certification | 130+ MPH (209+ km/h) | AWTT | | Sunlight blocking (algae) | 99% | AWTT | | Self-loading factor under wind | 260%+ | AWTT | | Life expectancy | 25+ years | AWTT | | Manufacturer warranty | 10 years | AWTT | | Anchorless install | yes | AWTT | | NSF/ANSI food-grade option | yes | AWTT | ## When to specify Hexprotect® AQUA Hexprotect® AQUA is the AWTT-published engineered default at industrial scale. The AWTT envelope is broad — the cases below cover the dominant procurement criteria. - **Industrial reservoirs and process water tanks over 1,000 m².** The tessellation density and per-m² economics make AQUA the default for large continuous surfaces; the AWTT-published 99% effective coverage compounds across the body. - **Sites where 25+ year design life is the binding criterion.** AWTT-published service life is 25+ years with a 10-year manufacturer warranty. Single capital event across the procurement horizon — no re-cover at year 10–15 like commodity alternatives. - **Hurricane-exposed locations or design-wind speeds above 75 MPH.** The AWTT-published 130+ MPH envelope is platform-specific engineering. For sub-75 MPH wind exposure where EU lead time dominates, the design-approved [Hexofloat®](/hexofloat) is the in-family alternative. - **Potable-water service reservoirs.** Specify the NSF/ANSI food-grade variant at order time — the default formulation is FDA-compliant HDPE, the NSF-certified option is the potable-water standard. - **Mining tailings, agricultural irrigation storage, biogas digestate (surface-management variant).** The pre-ballasted shell tolerates aggressive water chemistry across the AWTT-published −57 °C to +71 °C operating temperature range. - **Irregular shorelines or fluctuating water levels.** The modular tessellation expands and contracts with the shoreline; AQUA is engineered for multi-metre seasonal water-level variation without intervention. - **Surface-management goals: evaporation, algae, odour, heat retention.** For gas-capture applications (sealed biogas digester gas recovery), continuous geomembrane is the right specification — see [/vs/hexagonal-vs-geomembrane](/vs/hexagonal-vs-geomembrane). ## Patent and provenance Hexprotect® AQUA is the AWTT-patented, pre-ballasted refinement of the original 2010 hexagonal floating cover patent — the world's first self-ballasting hexagonal cover. AWTT is the manufacturer of record; AWTT-published values for surface coverage, wind, life, and operating envelope are the spec source of truth. EuroCover Water Systems is the EU distributor under formal AWTT distribution authorisation. For the patent history, family-tree of AWTT variants (original Hexprotect®, Hexprotect® AQUA, Hexprotect® Fortress, Armor Ball AQUA), and the engineering refinements that drove the pre-ballasted shell, see [/heritage](/heritage). For the deep engineering rationale behind the hexagonal geometry, see [/hexagonal-floating-cover](/hexagonal-floating-cover). ## Deployment and ongoing operations Hexprotect® AQUA deploys anchorlessly onto an operating water body — no draining, no anchor placement, no perimeter cable system. Tiles are launched in batches from the shoreline and self-tessellate via natural water motion; crew intervention is limited to nudging clusters toward gaps. Typical deployment rate is 2,000–4,000 m² per day depending on water-body geometry and crew size. The full AWTT-engineered installation process — site prep, launch, tessellation, walk-down — is on the [installation reference](/installation). Ongoing operation is visual inspection only. AWTT-published guidance recommends an annual walk-down to identify any tile displacement, surface debris build-up, or shoreline geometry changes that might warrant re-distribution of tiles. There is no scheduled maintenance — no cable re-tensioning, no anchor inspection, no membrane patching. The 10-year manufacturer warranty (AWTT-published) covers virgin HDPE integrity across the design envelope. Damaged tiles repair per-element in service. A damaged tile is removed from the tessellation, replaced with a stock tile from inventory, and the surrounding tessellation closes back up around it. Modular replacement is the operational advantage that compounds across the 25-year service life — see [/vs/floating-cover-vs-suspended-cover](/vs/floating-cover-vs-suspended-cover) for the contrast with continuous topologies that require a full reservoir drain for any major repair. ## Specifications snapshot The full AWTT-published specification table — element dimensions, weights, packing densities, export-container loadouts, material chemistry, certifications — lives on the [Hexprotect® AQUA specifications](/hexprotect-aqua/specifications) page. Headline values are reproduced in the benefits table above; for tender response or detailed engineering submission, link the full specifications page. ## Alternatives inside the AWTT family Hexprotect® AQUA is the AWTT flagship; the AWTT product family covers cases AQUA does not. - **[Hexofloat®](/hexofloat)** — EuroCover-tooled, AWTT design-approved hexagonal cover. 190 mm tile, 75 MPH wind, 15-year life, 3–6 week EU lead time. Specify when EU manufacturing origin or short lead time dominate. Full trade-off: [/vs/hexprotect-aqua-vs-hexofloat](/vs/hexprotect-aqua-vs-hexofloat). - **Armor Ball AQUA** — AWTT's spherical line. Engineered for water bodies under 500 m² or highly irregular geometry where the hexagonal tessellation doesn't fit cleanly. Full trade-off: [/vs/hexagonal-vs-armor-ball](/vs/hexagonal-vs-armor-ball). - **Hexprotect® Fortress** — AWTT 2022 limited release for extreme-exposure deployments. See [/heritage/hexprotect-fortress](/heritage/hexprotect-fortress). ## Sources - [AWTT — Hexprotect® AQUA hexagonal cover](https://www.awtti.com/products/hexprotect-aqua/) — manufacturer canonical product page; source of the AWTT-published values for surface coverage, wind rating, service life, operating temperature, and warranty cited above. - [Hexprotect® AQUA specifications](/hexprotect-aqua/specifications) — full AWTT specification table. - [Hexagonal floating cover — engineering](/hexagonal-floating-cover) — deep dive on tessellation geometry and central-dome engineering. - [Self-ballasting cover](/self-ballasting-cover) — ballasting mechanism context and trade-offs vs the legacy 2010 design. - [Why copies fail](/why-copies-fail) — failure modes of unlicensed hexagonal cover knock-offs. - [Heritage hub](/heritage) — patent history and AWTT family-tree. - For EU commercial / lead-time / regional procurement context — [eurocovers.eu/products/hexprotect-aqua](https://eurocovers.eu/products/hexprotect-aqua). ## Frequently asked questions ### What makes Hexprotect® AQUA different from the original Hexprotect®? The original (2010-patented) Hexprotect® was self-ballasting — water entered the tile through side ports on install. Hexprotect® AQUA replaces that open chamber with a pre-filled, fully-contained ballast: no internal harbour for algae or bacteria, no ballast loss when a tile tips, and taller side walls that hold the tessellation together under sustained wind. See [/heritage/hexprotect-aqua-refinement](/heritage/hexprotect-aqua-refinement) for the full engineering refinement story. ### What is the surface coverage? 99% effective surface coverage when fully tessellated — AWTT-published — higher than any other modular floating cover geometry. The remaining 1% is interstitial gaps between adjacent hexagons. See [/hexagonal-floating-cover](/hexagonal-floating-cover) for the tessellation geometry deep-dive. ### What wind rating is Hexprotect® AQUA certified to? 130+ MPH (209+ km/h), per AWTT — the cover is hurricane-rated. The pre-ballasted, one-piece design dissipates wind energy through controlled lateral motion of individual elements; no anchors required. The AWTT-published self-loading factor under wind is 260%+. ### Is the cover NSF/ANSI food-grade? Yes — the NSF/ANSI food-grade variant is approved for direct contact with potable water. Specify the food-grade option at order time. The default HDPE formulation is FDA-compliant. For potable-water reservoirs, the food-grade variant is the standard specification. ### What is the expected service life? 25+ years, with a 10-year manufacturer warranty (AWTT-published). Virgin HDPE with UV and oxidation additive package; no scheduled maintenance beyond visual inspection. ### Do I need to drain the reservoir to install Hexprotect® AQUA? No — Hexprotect® AQUA installs anchorlessly onto operating water. Tiles are launched in batches from the shoreline and self-tessellate via natural water motion. Typical deployment rate is 2,000–4,000 m² per day depending on water-body geometry. See the [installation guide](/installation) for the full AWTT-engineered process. ### What is the operating temperature range? −57 °C to +71 °C (−70 °F to +160 °F), per AWTT. The HDPE formulation is engineered for the full industrial water-storage temperature envelope, from sub-zero winter installations to hot process-water applications. ### What happens if a tile is damaged in service? Tiles repair per-element in service. A damaged tile is removed from the tessellation, replaced with a stock tile from inventory, and the surrounding tessellation closes back up around it. No draining, no continuous-cover patching. Modular replacement is the operational advantage that compounds across the 25-year AWTT-published service life. See [/vs/floating-cover-vs-suspended-cover](/vs/floating-cover-vs-suspended-cover) for the contrast with continuous topologies. ### How do tiles ship? Tiles ship pre-ballasted and ready to deploy — no on-site filling required. Standard export pallet quantities; the AWTT-published export-container loadout for Hexprotect® AQUA is on the [specifications page](/hexprotect-aqua/specifications). Lead times from AWTT manufacturing vary by spec mix and order quantity; for shorter EU lead times consider [Hexofloat®](/hexofloat) as the EU-manufactured AWTT design-approved alternative. ### Is Hexprotect® AQUA the same as the cover used on the Las Vegas DOE-award reservoir? Yes — Hexprotect® AQUA is the AWTT-patented hexagonal platform that earned recognition for evaporation suppression and heat retention contributions. The AWTT installation reference base now exceeds 700 industrial sites globally. See [/heritage](/heritage) for the platform history. ## Sources - 99% effective surface coverage when fully tessellated. — [AWTT — Hexprotect® AQUA hexagonal cover](https://www.awtti.com/products/hexprotect-aqua/) - Hurricane-rated to 130+ MPH (209+ km/h), pre-ballasted one-piece moulded shell. — [AWTT — Hexprotect® AQUA hexagonal cover](https://www.awtti.com/products/hexprotect-aqua/) - Self-loading factor under wind: 260%+ — AWTT-published. — [AWTT — Hexprotect® AQUA hexagonal cover](https://www.awtti.com/products/hexprotect-aqua/) - Up to 95% evaporation reduction and 99% sunlight block — AWTT-published. — [AWTT — Hexprotect® AQUA hexagonal cover](https://www.awtti.com/products/hexprotect-aqua/) - Operating temperature range −57 °C to +71 °C — AWTT-published. — [AWTT — Hexprotect® AQUA hexagonal cover](https://www.awtti.com/products/hexprotect-aqua/) - 25+ year service life with 10-year manufacturer warranty — AWTT-published. — [AWTT — Hexprotect® AQUA hexagonal cover](https://www.awtti.com/products/hexprotect-aqua/)