Phytoplankton plays an essential role for your marine aquarium. It competes with nuisance algae for food and will consume nutrients. It can be food for copepods and corals and can increase color and polyp extension. Adding phytoplankton to your marine aquarium will increase biodiversity and will provide your filter-feeding organisms a diet complete with highly nutritious essential fatty acids, proteins, vitamins, amino acids, and carotenoids. Nannochloropsis algae consumes several nitrogen waste compounds including ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. As a result, Nano helps if you have an overfeeding problem, if you are adding a new critter to your tank, or if you want to reduce the frequency of water changes. This product is alive which means the shelf live is very limited. Please remove the lid to allow it to breath and shake daily.