To begin the balloon tag assembly, carefully insert the piercing tool into the silicone stopper. Then insert the piercing tool attached to the stopper into a 15 gauge syringe needle. After that, remove the piercing tool from the silicone stopper leaving only the needle embedded in the stopper.
Cut a six inch piece from a 50 pound fishing line. Insert the fishing line piece into the silicone stopper through the 15 gauge needle. While holding the stopper and the fishing line together, carefully retract the needle from the stopper leaving the fishing line inside the stopper.
Next, insert two acid-based powder filled capsules into a latex balloon. Using a rubber band expansion tool like a castration band plier, gently expand the balloon opening. Then carefully insert one silicone stopper into the balloon opening, making sure to keep the two ends of the fishing line outside the balloon.
Place two O-rings onto the rubber band expansion tool and expand them. Push the neck of the latex balloon through the two expanded O-rings. Carefully pull the two O-rings away from the rubber band expansion tool leaving them tightly wrapped around the balloon's neck centered on the stopper.
Insert one end of the fishing line through one of the small holes in the sensor fish cap and pull it through the large hole at the center. Tie both ends of the fishing line together leaving a 0.5 to one inch gap from the top of the cap to the balloon base. Keep the extra fishing line attached as cutting it too close to a knot might cause it to untie.
Studying the average inflation time for balloon tags with different volumes of water at two different temperatures revealed that full inflation occurred faster when using water at 18.3 degrees Celsius as compared to 12.7 degrees Celsius. A slower dissolution of the capsules at lower temperatures caused delayed inflation. Among the tested conditions, the three capsule balloon tags injected with five milliliters of water at 18.3 degrees Celsius exhibited consistent size with a mean volume of 114 cubic centimeters.
At 18.3 degrees Celsius, the four capsule balloon tags demonstrated a faster inflation start time. However, the full inflation times for the two capsule and four capsule balloon tags were nearly identical. The three capsule balloon tag began deflating first followed by the four capsule, and finally, the two capsule balloon tags.
