Heater and light question for plants...?

[VTAb182]

I got a 2.5gal tank with a heater for my betta and I want to put a few live plants in it. But I was wondering if I should keep the plants away from the heater, or if they can be right up against it without being damaged? Right now it's horizontal along the back wall but I want to pick up a couple suction cups to mount it on the wall. Is this a good idea?

I found a 9W daylight CFL bulb at my local hardware store that I was going to use in my desk lamp that is right in front of the tank. I bought it but it doesn't work so I'll be exchanging it. They also have 13W there so I wanted to ask about that: how close would the lamp have to be with a 9W bulb? Because if it has to be directly above the tank and close to it it wouldn't be very useful as a lamp for writing and such. But if I got the 13W and put it away a bit more it could serve both purposes. Or another option would be to get the 9W bulb and get a regular lamp (like one for a reptile cage) that just sits right on the tank (would this put it too close or get the tank too hot or anything?). Some help on this problem would be great.

I know I'm kinda asking a lot of questions, but any guidance would be very helpful. Thanks!

[VTAb182]

Sorry for the double post, but to clear things up I was talking about a lamp like this:

[VTAb182]

Okay so sorry for posting again but I can't seem to find how to edit the original post. I moved my tank today so it's not longer right next to my desk lamp. It's right up against a wall and I found a wall mounted spotlight lamp in my garage like the one pictured that I can put above the tank:


I'm thinking it would be a good idea to get a 13W bulb as opposed to the 9W so it doesn't have to be right on the tank, but how high up do you think I should put the 13W bulb to maintain the 2-3W per gallon in my 2.5 gallon tank? Having the light go through a glass cover (that's only about 3/4 covering the top) won't make a difference, will it?

And the original question about plants near the heater still remains .

Thank you!

[Hadouken441]

The Sun dome one would probably have better reflectors so you can get the most out of your light.

[Tomsk]

Depending on what plants you have you may not have to worry about the 2-3W per G rule.I have a nicely planted 10G (UK gallon) with a 15W bulb (see my tanks via my avatar tab).
What plants are you using?,it all depends on if they are low/medium/high level light plants.

Tomsk

[VTAb182]

I don't have any plants yet, but I was planning on getting anacharis and water sprite