The secret of the planted aquarium. Knowing your plants will be the first place to start. Some plants are low light plants and others require more work. Live plants in an aquarium are truely benefical and arent as scary as they appear.
Your going to want to check your lighting. True planted tanks have a fluorescent lighting bulb that is 6500K or higher. This is the best for growing live plants. If you dont have this type of lighting, you might want to consider low light plants.
Special substrate isnt needed. While iron enriched substrate are really good for plants, you wont need it. It is best left for keepers who specialize in planted aquariums. Same goes with CO2 systems. You wont really need it, but it is recommended for most aquarium plants. DIY kits i will metion later.