New Hexa-Cover product from Polytex offers ‘better water and more of it’
By Peter Bedwell
Pork Journal and its sister publication Poultry Digest have published a number of reports on Polytex products in recent years.
The company’s product range includes dam covers, thermally efficient livestock shed curtains, fan covers and awnings for many applications.
Now the Leeton NSW based company introduces Australian made Hexa-Cover floating tiles designed to protect farm water storage from contamination and evaporation.
Rod Martin, Sales Manager at Polytex contacted Pork Journal in April to inform us about the innovative Hexa-Cover product.
“Hexa-Cover is a floating cover solution for all types of fluids and is made up of independent tiles which together form a hexagonal grid-like arrangement over a liquid surface.
“Each tile is a single solid piece with no hollow areas or weak joints; these tiles can never sink,” Rod explained.
“The product is made in Australia to suit our often harsh Australian climate that has huge temperature ranges and high levels of UV.
“Reduction of bio security risks such as contaminated water are one of the most important benefits to farmers offered by our Hexa-Cover product.
“The Hexa-Cover tiles are approved for use when in contact with drinking water for human consumption according to AS4020:2018.
“There is no risk of contamination of water sources from the product,” Rod added.
“By using the Hexa-Cover, bird and wildlife activity is minimised and ducks cannot land on the Hexa-Cover and our trials demonstrated that they don’t even try, they hate them.
“Evaporation is a major problem for livestock water storage sources but in a situation where there is no contact
between the water surface and surrounding air there is little or no evaporation.
“Further, the Hexa-Cover system still allows for collection of rainfall – a critical feature that does not occur with a fully sealed cover.
“Odour emission, like evaporation, is minimised by the Hexa Cover, as odour emission requires contact between the odour source and surrounding air,” Rod said.
“During the development period of the Hexa-Cover product, one client reported staggering improvements in water quality and was able to demonstrate this by accurate measurements of key parameters in overall water quality and safety levels.
The water was drawn from a local creek which had some levels of existing contaminants,” Rod explained to Pork Journal.
“Operationally, by improving water quality with Hexa-Cover, less treatment chemicals are required and less attention from farm operators.
“In livestock rearing operations, reduction of contaminants and treatment chemicals can increase the effectiveness of any necessary
chemicals added, therefore reducing usage levels and associated costs.
“Other key benefits of Hexa-Cover are lower maintenance requirements of many other on-farm systems, including the dam itself (less contaminants and contamination by products), less pump maintenance and less filter replacement and cleaning.
“Algae and weeds, both a major impediment in livestock watering systems, cannot grow without sunlight, which is excluded using Hexa-Cover.
Hexa-Cover has no maintenance requirements and has a design life of more than 25 years and so it is the easy answer to ‘better water and more of it’,” Rod said.
“Installation is as simple as suspending bulker bags of Hexa-Cover tiles off the edge of a dam, then just cutting the bags open.
“The tiles fall in and spread themselves out across the water’s surface. As the water level goes up and down, so do the tiles.”
A major client installed 108,000 Hexa-Cover tiles in June 2017 and noted, “a significant reduction in algae growth and E Coli in our raw water storage which made the water much easier to treat.
“The installation and application of the Hexa-Covers into open tanks couldn’t be easier.
“The system is a very cost effective way of limiting the amount of sunlight affecting the tank water which in turn, alleviates the growth of algae.
“We used to experience pump blockages every two days due to aquatic weeds growing in our water sources.
“These pump blockages have not occurred since the Hexa-Cover tiles were installed,” the producer stated.
Maintaining drinking water quality for all commercial livestock species is vital not only for productivity but animal welfare, and this in particular applies to pig production.
Water is a scarce asset in Australia and maintaining the quality and quantity of what we have is of critical importance.
Polytex, an innovative Australian company, now has a home grown product that goes a considerable way to protecting one of our most precious of production assets.
For more information contact Rod Martin, email rod@polytex.net.au
Or mobile 0429574963. Go to the website at www.polytex.com.au