Lol I am reading my own words on that link.
The first post in that thread was linked has several flaws in it. The aerobic nitrifiers found in aquaria cannot be dried out, there are a few sources that attest to that. I've read the links given (obviously since I was part of that thread from years go), and a lot of what is being claimed really doesn't have legs. One major reason why I say that is because if it were that simple, if the nitrifiers were THAT easy to manipulate then all of the products on the market would work, and work well.
But through personal testing and research I've come to the conclusion that most of them do not work well, or work at all in seeding the tank with the same sort of nitrifiers that are found in it naturally. For the most part, most of these products contain heterotrophs that are far less sensitive to factors like bottling, drying out, and temperature extremes. While heterotrophs can and will convert nitrogenous waste, they do so quite poorly compared to the nitrifiers naturally found in an established tank.
The problem with using these bacteria to cycle a tank is that they are far from stable, as is anything in a new setup, so the tank may look fine one day and then be a toxic cess pool another.
And I agree about the detoxifying water conditioners, Prime, amquel+, ammolock all render ammonia less toxic temporarily by 'converting' it to nh4, and they all claim that it is still available to the biofilter during this period.
