First post, question on using pool vacuum

Hi. I just moved to a house with a pool. It is very nice and I have decided to maintain it myself even though I have little experience with it.
I have polaris cleaner that does not seem to work well. I want to start to manually clean the pool (I have enough time and don't mind the physical work). I have a couple of questions on that
1. I want to buy a hose to connect to the skimmer. I found one with great reviews in amazon but I don't know if it will fit and what size I have to buy.
2. I don't want debris to directly to go to the pool filter. I found a few leaf traps that can be used with the hose but couldn't find much details. Any recommends on what I can use for trapping debris.

Appreciate your help. Excuse me if I questions are silly. I am very new to all this.
Thanks
Chuppi