Welcome!!!
Oh yeah... skimmate... my fav Yes, the skimmer will take 2 to 3 days to kick-in, the best way is not to touch the skimmer (no tuning)... let it run for 2 days and see how. Pix will definitely give us a better picture of your setup and to share with us your proud setup.
Haha... it's kinda upfront for you to mention "please do not recommend me spend $$$"... but if your setup is incomplete... spending money along the way is inevitable This hobby is a "bottomless pithole" unfortunately The rich will have larger pithole... the "not-so-rich" will have a smaller pithole... no one escapes without damage
But it's well worth it