I agree, the fuge is a great idea. I went to see a friend, today, that keeps one in his nano. It's attached to a 30 gallon refugium. I would just do the biggest refugium you could fit or afford to set up. What he does, which I thought was a good idea as well, is switch out some of the live rock in his refugium with pieces from his nano from time to time and it works great for him. He's had his for over two years. I think he said just before summer of 2002 he aquired it. As far as mature tank, the longer the better, but I got mine when I noticed my pod population in the tank explode. They were all over the place when I looked in the tank after the lights went out, especially on the glass wall with a lot of algae. I'd say look for that and that would be a good indication your tank has a decent supply. Timewise, I don't know.... I'd say at least six months. I guess it depends on how much rock and sand you have (the more, the better the boost). I'm impatient and I think I waited about 4 months, but like I said, I felt the pod population was pretty good. Also, pods are a food supply for many types of fish, and inverts. Just research any of the fish your interested in getting before you pick them up and you should be okay as long as they are compatible. Like I mentioned earlier, you could only keep one of those, unless it was a male and female. Then your chances would be better (although, still not a sure shot). And some blennies and gobies may be a problem. It's kinda hit or miss. My friend had one that his algae blenny chased around the tank (that's how it got to end up in the nano) My algae blenny doesn't bother mine at all. Good luck. HTH.