Keeping the Mbuna tank free of algae

dagizmo19

I am in the process of establishing a 55g tank with Mbuna, what is the most effective way to keep the tank free of algae?

1) Pleco (of some sort)
2) Snails (Malaysian Trumpet)
3) Manually clean the rocks and glass on a regular basis
4) None, let the Mbuna take care of that.

I currently have 10 yellow labs in the tank. I am hoping to add some Acei as well.

1077

I personally don't clean anything inside the tank with the exception of the glass. I have a magnetic glass cleaner but more often as not, I just fold a clean paper towel into fourths and use that to clean the glass on a weekly basis. I clean the front and sides but let the back glass go.
Pleco would need to be large in my view, to thrive in a tank of cichlids and most of the larger species are not very good at eating algae, they would much rather eat fish food and they create considerable waste(poop).
Trumpet snails are good at scavenging but might become troublesome if cichlids don't keep their numbers in check. So ,,, I vote for the last two options.