kiya

For alage-eating fish, you might consider mollies or platies. They do a better job keeping algae down than any suckerfish I've ever had, and platies come in blue-sheened variants if you can find a place that has the wilder-looking ones. (Not that the orange and red ones aren't pretty, of course, but I like the wild speckledy cool-colored fishes myself.) Of course, they do breed a bit.

Heaters are always recommended for fish tanks, even if you have cold-water fish. Consistency is important.

Thank you for posting your notes! I doubt I'll be doing anything like this soon, but it's great to read about.