It will really depend on the species you want.... I have all my kings in aquariums but my pythons (scrubs, retic, carpets) are in melamine or plastic totes. the reason being that they definitely benefit from the solid walls and ventilation. Even my king snake tanks I have 3 of the walls covered with a solid non reflective material so as to reduce the amount of light that is reflected off the glass, this makes a more solid environment which almost all snakes feel much more secure in.
Snakes that tend to be more touchy to environmental factors I would never keep in a glass tank. having a solid top and side vents really works wonders on those that are prone to RI or just more finicky about their environment in general.
You could probably get away with a carpet in a glass tank, they tend to be more forgiving, but if you'r not wanting something huge aim for an Irian Jaya, they are the smallest of the carpets usually not getting more than 6ft for a large female. coastal carpets are the largest and they can routinely reach 12ft.
You will not need to and should not install any lights on a snake tank. As long as it is a room that does get light from somewhere (a window) that is all it needs. They don't need any supplementary light like many lizards do and in some cases the excess light can even stress them out, especially for nocturnal animals. For heat you will be much better off going with an under tank heating pad connected to a thermostat. Belly heat is always superior to over head heat for snakes (meaning no lights, just a heat mat)