An aquarium should be a simulation of your pets? natural environment so in order to achieve this you should configure your aquarium in the right way. Research your pet fish environment to facilitate duplicating it within your fish tank. Make sure your aquarium is at the best possible location with minimal temperature variations away from direct sunlight. The best and most important thing you should do in the beginning is to research fish and their environments and select the right fish. The right fish for the environment you will be able to create in the easiest possible way. If this is your first aquarium then you have to make a decision between fresh or salt water environments. In general fresh water aquariums are in general easier to manage. Once you find the particular kind of fish you like and you would like to create habitats for then you should also look into their temperaments. In other words will the kinds you like be compatible with each other is a question you need to ask your self before you select the kinds of fish for your aquarium. For example you can't place piranhas with other fish in the same aquarium it would be a bad move. After you select the fish then you should decide what kind of aquarium or fish tank you will need. If the fish you like are or can grow big then you must pick a bigger aquarium. Purchase the other parts accordingly; your filters for example should depend on how big your aquarium is. The next thing you should keep in mind is picking the right location for you aquarium. You want to keep your aquarium away from direct sunlight, away from air conditioning and heating vents but in a prominent enough place where you can see and enjoy your work. A steady temperature in your aquarium also means that algae growth will be controlled for most of the part. One more thing you need to be aware of when you are starting an aquarium is to decide how many fish you are going to place in the tank. The general rule is that one fish per gallon. But at the same time some fish are bigger than others and need more space. Therefore, you should consider that for every inch of fish you will need on gallon. In other words, if the fish you want grow to become one inch each then you can place 30 of them in a 30 gallon aquarium. Don't make this calculation based on the size of the fish when you purchase them but based on the size they reach when they are fully grown. If this is your first aquarium you should start relatively small. If you are going to work with a fresh water aquarium you should start with an aquarium that is not bigger than 30 gallons and if you are going to go with a saltwater set up don't go bigger than 70 gallons. Keep in mind that the bigger the aquarium the better the environment will be. More water means that the temperature can stabilize faster and destabilize harder. If this is your first aquarium then get kit that includes the right filters and pumps. Equipment that has been selected for the tank you are buying.