I realize this is an oldish thread, but for some reason i just found it. In regards to SeaChem I can say they offer both good and bad advice and products. I have used their liquid ferts and Excel for years, I just began using a bit of Equilibrium in a couple of tanks (below what they suggest because I do not need a normal amount).
However, my beef with them is an honesty issue the same as the original reason for this post You can decide for yourself from the following.
It has been known for some time what bacteria in tanks are working on ammonia and nitrite. The ammonia and nitrite oxidizing bacteria are aerobic, chemotrophic (they do not use organic food) and they reproduce by binary division (they divide). T
hey do not form spores. Another term often used for them is autotrophic. About 20 years ago the thinking was that the nitrite oxidizers in tanks were Nitrobacter. It turned out they were actually Nitrospira. Neither forms spores.
Three genera of bacteria, omnipresent in the environment, can usually establish themselves in the aquarium and metabolize the inorganic nitrogen compounds that would otherwise accumulate there: Nitrosomonas, Nitrobacter, and Thiobacillus. Nitrosomonas convert aquarium ammonia to nitrite, which Nitrobacter convert to nitrate, which Thiobacillus and other denitrifying genera anaerobically convert to nitrogen gas.
The above comes from a SeaChem pdf I bookmarked it years ago:
http://www.seachem.com/Library/SeaGrams/Biofiltration.pdf
Now, let's consider one of their current popular products, Stability. This is supposed to be for helping one cycle a tank or with cycling related issues. You can find this in the SeaChem FAQ section for Stability (I added the bold, italics and underline below):
Why does Stability™ not need refrigeration? If there's living bacteria in the solution, how do they stay alive for so long? Or is there something else besides bacteria in the product altogether?
A: The bacteria in Stability™ are alive but not active. They exist in a spore form. They can withstand extreme temperatures and do not require food to survive. When you add them to your aquarium they become active due to dilution.
The bacteria that require refrigeration are active. Refrigerating them slows down their life cycle and they require less food when cold. Because they are active they do require food, and that is packaged with them. They also will not survive extreme heat or cold and will die when they run out of food.
https://www.seachem.com/stability.php
The last paragraph above is complete BS and is half truths and outright misinformation. The bacteria are able to sense when the ammonia or oxygen they need is not available and they respond by going into a state of dormancy. The colony can remain almost 100% viable for 6 months to a year (when kept cooler) and when in good condition when they go dormant. After that they are dying. Dormant bacteria have no need to eat. Adding year+ old bottled living bacteria will put some number into a tank, but that will not be enough to get it cycled much faster than had you not added it.
It is also important to understand that the temperatures it takes to kill the bacteria are 32F or lower (i.e. freezing) and they should not be kept above 95F for any amount of time. How many of us keep tanks near these temps. Even running the peak of a dry season for my plecos my water temp. only goes over 90F by more than 1 or 2 degrees and not for very long (a week maybe two). When it comes to temperature you can treat the bacteria the same way you treat your fish.
Again, sorry for reviving an older thread.