Not all aquatic plants need CO2 system to thrive. Some hardy ones like java moss and java fern will do fine without it. The more important thing is the substrate. A lot of plants will die if you use regular gravel type of substrate. Pick a good substrate with lots of trace mineral is the first thing to get for a planted aquarium. Either that, or you must use some form of fertilizer to offset the lack of nutrients of your gravel.
As for CO2, I personally found it is quite troublesome to manage unless you go so called "high tech". In which case you get bottled CO2 canisters and set it on the same timer as your lights. Plants only need the CO2 when there is light. So it is pointless to use CO2 when the lights are off.
A few things you need to know. With CO2, plants will grow a lot quicker. You will need to trim them a lot more often. It depends on the actual plant species. Sometimes I just cut and replant the top. "Gardening" is no easy task in an aquarium if you want to keep everything look perfect.
By using CO2, your water PH will drop a little. There is nothing to worry about though.
Could you provide a link to the chart? Actually nothing is set to stone. A lot of so called rules are flexible in different situations.
