new to planted tanks

[5am]

i just recently started a community/planted aquarium. its 40g with an overhead biofilter. there are currently 3 different types of low-light plants in there and some moss. as you can already tell, i am a noob.

my question is, do i need CO2? the owner at my LFS told me i didnt need CO2 as long as i have my lights running for a long time and i provide enough nutrients for the plants. i am familiar with gardening but not aqua-gardening.

the lighting im using is a CFL bulb and a coralife strip that was used for my 24g saltwater nano...(reef set-up). is this lighting enough? i have it on for more than 12hours a day.

the stocklist include 6 fancy guppies and 3 cory cats.

 

[WyldFya]

Lighting period is too long. Read the stickies at the top, they will help you quite a bit. CO2 is an absolute necessity for plants, injecting it is another story. CO2 is a nutrient, and must be in adequate amounts for the plants to still grow. Higher lighting levels will need co2 injection.

 

[Plecosterone]

Lighting should be in the "daylight" range of 6,500 - 10,000K range. Salt water lighting does nothing for plants. Cut lighting back to about 8 hours a day or you will fighting a losing battle with algae. You normally don't have to add Co2 until you get over 2 wpg, and then you will have to supply the plants with nutrients. Co2 will make your plants grow way faster and they will need much more pruning and maintenance.
More light = more Co2 & ferts.

 

[5am]

ok. after reading the stickies and other members' posts on their planted aquariums, i am still skeptical about using CO2.

to make things clearer about my current set up here is the information...
fish tank: 40g breeder
filtration: overhead wet/dry with a maxijet 1200 (roughly 290 gph)
fish stocklist: 4 fancy guppies, 2 cory cats, and a million small snails
plants: anubias nana, java moss, some kinda crypto, and another kinda anubias (i asked the lfs to recommend me low light plants and these are the ones i bought)
lighting: coralife 96w 50:50 (hours on: roughly 10 hours a day)
ferts: API Leaf Zone

i have read that if you have too low of a light, but inject co2, then you get algae and melted plants...

is my current set-up ok, or does it seem like i need to add co2? i do not want to upgrade my lighting because i am a little strapped for cash at the moment. the plants seem to be loving the coralife and are growing pretty good. if i have to add co2, i was planning on doing the yeast/sugar set-up

any suggestions on stocklist for plants, fish, filtration, is much appreciated...