Raceway design and simulation system (RDSS): An event-based program to simulate the day-to-day operations of multiple-tank raceways

A software program, called Raceway Design and Simulation System (RDSS), has been built using Visual Basic for Applications in Microsoft® Excel. The purpose of the software is to allow users to manage their raceways more efficiently by providing a tool to simulate the operation of an existing raceway or to predict conditions in a raceway under a wide variety of operating conditions. The program simulates the conditions in a system of multiple tanks that may be arranged in sets of parallel raceways with serial water flow. The user may specify the use of overflow weirs or customized oxygen injection points in order to reoxygenate the water flow from succeeding tanks in each raceway. During the course of the simulation, the user may specify the size, number, location, and price of any new fish introduced into any raceway tank. Subsequent movement of fish between tanks or removal of part or all of a cohort is tracked by the program.Input data required include properties of the influent water such as temperature, flowrate, dissolved oxygen, pH, total ammonia nitrogen, and salinity. Fish growth is predicted using these input data and stocking information that is provided by the user. Fish mortality may be specified for each tank in a raceway. In addition, the costs of food, the purchase cost of fish, and the revenue from the sale of fish are also tracked.A comprehensive user manual is included with the software that provides information on the basic operation of the program, all the programming features, troubleshooting and, the various error messages that the user may encounter when using the program.