Cooking rock - Should I scrub them?

[NicoleRM]

So I've finally given in and decided to cook my rock. It's all out and currently in covered tubs on my front porch. Some of the rocks are completely covered in horrible thick reddish hair algae. So my question is, do I scrub the algae off during my swishing sessions or just let it die off? I'm afraid if I scrub it I will remove the sponges and featherdusters, etc along with the algae. But if I don't scrub it off, will that make my cooking process take forever? Any advise is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
Nicole

[xtrstangx]

If they still have the algae, I would pull it out into a seperate bucket and scrub it with a soft-bristle brush.

The sponges are going to die anyway if you've exposed them to oxygen.

Edit- How much light is your rock cooking bucket get? It should be no light if at all possible.

[lemonhead]

i would scrub the algea off the rock. the cookink process will kill the sponge and dusters anyway. why are cooking the rock?

[NicoleRM]

xtrstangx: The bucket is covered so it doesn't get any light.

lemonhead: I'm cooking the rock because it has been the source of a constant nitrate and phosphate battle for me. I bought a used setup from a coworker who had not kept up with maintenance on the tank, in addition to letting multiple dead fish rot in the tank during and after power outages due to the hurricaines here in 2004. As a result, the rock is completely clogged with detritus and who knows what else. After swishing and dunking the rocks the first time of the cooking process, there is a layer about 2 inches thick of detritus in the bottom of my cooking tub. It's really gross.


Thanks for the input so far!