for the algae on the glass, scraping it off with an old credit card will work. After that's done there's going to be algae floating around so a water change/gravel vac wouldn't hurt.
try getting a timer for the lights. any photoperiod over 12 hours is just asking for algae. so, of course, don't leave the lights on overnight. if your uncle does decide to get a timer then he could incorporate a ~2 hour rest period into the schedule. Plants start to utilize light alot faster than algae so the rest period would trip up algae growth without affecting the plants.
make sure all the plants are true aquatics, there's a bunch of places that sell non-aquatics that soon die within a month or so and the dead leaves create excess nutrients (PO4s?) on which algae will thrive. Try not to overfeed as well. Uneaten food that is left to rot creates the same decay-nutrient problem.
Algae eaters are a neccessity in the aquarium, IMO. Watch out for the "chinese algae eater" and "pleco's". I would say those species get too big for a 10g, however a 10-g would happily accomodate a few ottocinclus. They are great at eating algae, friendly, and could make a big difference in the appearance of the aquarium.
Well, hope this helps.
