So I am in the process of setting up for a bioactive 40g tank for a wild garter snake. I'm using one of the kits at
www.thebiodude.com. I really like his substrates, and the kits come with everything you need including a few plants and a really nice light. I only ordered the 29g kit since I'm doing a paludarium setup and have a sunray to light one side and provide UV, but this tiny 16" lamp is probably bright enough to light the whole thing. Supposedly with his Bioshot...stuff...you don't really need a clean up crew unless you don't want to pull out sheds and spot clean some poop. You'll still have to spot clean some urates I believe. But no, you don't have to use live plants if you don't want to.
I will post pics when I actually set it up.