Yes, Ollie was my first octopus. I prepared for some time before getting a tank, and followed all of Colin's advice. My tank was set up and running for four months before I got Ollie, and I would recommend this for everyone. This is not a thing to hurry into. I learned a lot during this period that helped me give Ollie a good life.
Keeping an octopus was a lot of work, expensive (to give her the best food including live food), time-consuming, and more stressful than I anticipated - but also more rewarding.
Nancy