Need your input on a situation!

I am a college student and I just accepted a co-op job about 3 hours away where I will be gone all week every week (home on weekends) for the next fall semester. Sadly enough...my tank cannot come with me and I have a roommate who is good for nothing more than top offs and feedings. I plan on modifying my skimmer so i can attach the collection cup to a jug of some sort with airline tubing and have all the lights on timers..any other ideas on what i could do to prepare? I'm worried about dosing the most..buffer and calcium is the only thing i do daily..the others are pretty much weekly so that's not a problem..don't they make "dosing machines" of some sort? cheap? expensive? (probably the second...)..anything will help! Thanks!

 

you can build a cheap auto top off with a 15$ Toms aqua lifter and a bin of ro/di water

 

yeah I've looked into ATO mechanisms but I really just don't have the room..my sump takes up all the room under my stand and my bedroom isn't too big! 2 gas cans filled with ro/di in my closet work fine haha

 

I have seen more mess made with a 1/2 way attempted skimmer collector skimmer gos crazy and boom you have 10 few gals or water on the floor get a proper collector . Because if you do this and it does flood you would not have been the first to have had it happen to.

 

ya thats fine it was just a sugestion.

 

Not sure I follow..do they make these type of add ons? I have never seen one..i've just seen the tubing and a water bottle lol if they do that'd be great!