Real advice: Start from the top.
Tips: Go to the ----- line.
Advice? I'll give you some: Get out now. Seriously.
I played OGame in .org Universe 2 for nine months back in 2006-2007. I was top 850/6000+ in the second-oldest universe and had something like a 2000-ship fleet at my peak (spread over 3 galaxies), containing a few hundred battleships, a few dozen destroyers, and a ton of cruisers and light fighters (fodder FTW). But I got so obsessed about that game that it literally ate my life. Daily schedule:
-Get on before school, fleetsave
-2 hours later, in CAD, attack with return time in 2 hours
-2 hours later, fleetsave for 4 hours
-At home, start attacking for the rest of the night
-End of night, fleetsave until morning
-Repeat.
It got to the point where I did nothing but play OGame, and nearly had a panic attack whenever I knew the fleets were returning and wasn't online. As much fun as the game appears to be, I have to recommend that you NOT get too into it.
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If you're going to play anyway

:
1.) Start the attacks. And soon. You need that extra res to get going early on, and turtling is asking to be demolished. Back in U2 there were entire alliances dedicated to smashing turtles, and I even saw attacks in U6 where THOUSANDS of IPMs were launched to break defenses, followed by hundred-Death Star-strong fleet attacks on the planets. Those numbers aren't typos, either.
2.) Look for an alliance containing a reasonably strong (your strength or better, don't automatically go for the #1) player in your local area. They can help you at a moment's notice when necessary, and moonshots are cheap at short range.
3.) Don't be afraid to attack. My younger brother was hit one morning for a few thousand res by the guy next door to me (we had planets in the same system). I found out about it and ripped the guy with three attacks, smashing every part of his entire fleet at the time, then recycled it. Each week, I'd hit him as ongoing retaliation. You have to attack to win. I got hit once for minimal damage, and a friend hit the guy's moon with 8k probes (back when they could attack; only carry 1 res, but you could clean out a moon with that many in SECONDS) 4 times in 10 minutes just to send a message. It's a rough game, but you have to do what you have to do.
Congrats on the first battleship, by the way. I don't know what's changed since then, but those en masse are great for fleet rampages. Good luck.