New to planted aquariums and discus....need advise thanks

[n5762715]

Hey everyone,
I am new to discus and that but I have kept saltwater and cichlids for years so I am experienced with aquariums.
I am setting up a 1200 x 480 x 600 tank with a very large cannister filter with matrix, carbon, ammonia remover ect. I think I have ample filtration but I would like reassurance.
I am planning on having a moderately heavy planted aquarium. The main thing I am wondering is what substrate heating should I use if any and also what CO2 devise should I use? I dont know much about co2 diffusers ect but I want to do it for a reasonable price without spending a fortune but I want a really successful planted tank. Any help is welcome. Thanks heaps
chris

[ILLUSN]

having a tank that size youd need to go preasurised co2 with a good reactor, if you wanted to use CO2. i like the externals as they dont take up tank space and are easy enough to hide. either way this wont be cheep you'd have to budget atleast $500 for it.
If your going planted dont bother with carbon and ammonia remover, your plants will take care of that for you.
substrate heating is only of real use if you plant your tank and leave it. if your replanting and re doing your tank every 6months or so i dont think you'll see much benifit. still if you want to give them a go a single 40w cable should be planty.

if you want a nice dense planted tank with less expense, go for lower light slower groing plants like swords, anubis, javafern and bolbitus if you can find it. there are some really nice culitars of anubis and swords comming through now that are easy to grow. add in a few fast growers like wysteria, blue stricta, temple, willow hygro and you'll be set

[JamezMan]

If you want a bit of a challenge later on, you could try some faster growing stem plants. They can look really nice when trimmed well and planted in groups and they shouldn't grow like mad if your lighting is appropriate.