[untamed]

Originally Posted by ElGuappo

would these organisms not still reproduce on the remaining and new rock untill i could switch out the rest of the rock?

Sure..yes...assuming that the old rock has a reproducing example of EVERY thing on the rocks that are being "cooked". By that argument, you might as well boil the rocks to ensure they are completely clean. At that point though, I wonder what people paid for when they purchased "live" rock.

I suppose the idea behind cooking the rocks is an attempt to selectively kill only algae. Of course, the problem is really that you have no idea what you are actually going to kill along with the algae.

Finally...I don't think it matters how clean and algae-free you get the rocks, if your tank conditions are such that algae wants to grow...it will.