My go-to cleaner for my bong is “astonish” tea cup cleaner 
It’s a powder I get down into the bong and then I pour boiling water in, and it foams up. Does a great job, gets into the nooks and crannies, no shaking, and it’s cheap, which is also nice.
If I’m feeling fancy, I’ll dry the bong fully in the toaster oven for a little while to make it easier to get the powder down the tube without sticking, but often don’t bother with that part.
For my Arizer stems, I boil them with a bit of dishwasher detergent, and they’re clean pretty quick. Again no shaking (and cheap).
I know some folks swear by 99% iso, but I agree about it leaving things sticky and needing another rinse, and this works for me pretty well.
As far as setup, I’ll link my comment in the other thread: Whats your go to way to smoke? - #89 by C_in_CT but it’s an Arizer Airmax + bong and a pass-thru adapter to make clearing the bong easier.