Google Python aquarium cleaner. It's a gravel vacuum you hook up to your sink so you can drain and fill your tank without having to buckets back and forth. Some people make their own because they are quite expensive for what they are and all you really need is an ordinary gravel vaccuum and some piping parts. You can search youtube videos to see how they work.
Shoaling fish shouldn't be much of a bother as long as you keep them in a group of 6 or more. Any less and they panic and try to 'blend in' with fish of different species, nippingand chasing them all around the tank in an effort to get them to engage.
