DIY Alkaline Water at Home: Using Maifan Stones and Prill Beads

You don’t need an expensive water ioniser to get alkaline water at home. Our Maifan stones and Magnesium Prill Beads are a simple, affordable way to add alkalinity to your existing water filter system.

Browse our alkaline water accessories or see our Benchtop Water Filters Guide.

Maifan Stones

Maifan stones are a natural mineral rock used in traditional Chinese water treatment. When water passes through or sits with Maifan stones, trace minerals (calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium) dissolve into the water, raising pH naturally to approximately 7.5–8.0 and adding beneficial minerals.

Our Maifan stones are included as a dedicated stage in our 8-stage KDF benchtop filter cartridges. They can also be added to gravity filter systems or used in a separate container to mineralise water.

Magnesium Prill Beads

Prill Beads are magnesium oxide ceramic beads that raise water pH and add magnesium — an essential mineral for muscle and nerve function. They produce a slightly higher pH than Maifan stones alone (typically 8.0–8.5) and are particularly popular for use in gravity filter systems.

Browse our Magnesium Prill Beads. Place them in the lower chamber of your gravity filter or in a glass jug of filtered water and leave for 15–30 minutes before drinking.

Using Both Together

Our 8-stage KDF benchtop filter cartridges include both Maifan stones and Prill Beads as dedicated alkalising stages, along with KDF media, activated carbon, ceramic, and other filtration stages. This gives you comprehensive filtration and natural alkalisation in a single cartridge. Browse our 8-stage KDF filter range.

What to Expect

Water treated with Maifan stones and Prill Beads tastes noticeably smoother and less flat than standard filtered water. pH typically reaches 7.5–8.5. Replace Maifan stones every 12 months; Prill Beads every 6–12 months depending on usage.

Frequently Asked Questions