A BN pleco is a great addition if you have a smaller tank (I have a 20 gallon so a normal pleco is not an option). Oto's are also great little guys that are anything but aggressive (unless not fed, then they might suck onto the sides of your fish). SAE are considered one if not THE best algae eater, but you need to be sure its a true SAE and not a CAE. Most of these guys are interesting to watch at different times of the day and so buying one under the guise of algae eating crew is not always the only reason. I'm in the process of getting some nerite snails, and hopefully will be able to acclimate them to fresh water (from SW). They are supposedly the snail holy grail for algae cleanup in a planted tank (ie they eat algae but leave the plants alone). A team effort of a BN pleco, SAE/Oto, and snails should help to prevent a serious algae outbreak, but again its fixing the end result rather then the cause (imbalance in light/CO2/ferts). But its another fail-safe.
Pressurized CO2 is probably the #1 "guarantee" against algae. That is to say without a constant/consistent supply of CO2 algae is always going to be a possible issue, while with it, you need to have everything else in ample supply (ferts, etc.).
Large frequent PWC's are another way to swing the algae defense in your favor. Keeps the dissolved organics to a minimum, and prevents a macro deficiency from occuring (not counting potassium), not to mention removing algae/spores in the water column.
But in the end, you'll always be battling algae to some extent, we don't have filtered air and a sterile tank to start with so spores are everywhere and the same conditions that favor the plants, favor the algae. It's being able to keep the algae to a minimum that is a "win".
