i have a 200g i'm considering turning into a fragging station using eggcrate setup similar to bleachers. does it make sense to use my 200g since i already have it, or should i get a shallow tank? Are there any decent looking rapid growing SPSs that you'd recommend?

id say go with a shallow tank that way your lighting isnt waisted.as far as fast sps, not real sure. i know you could really pump out the softies with the right setup.
a 40 gallon breader is a good size but you may be looking for somthing a little bigger.

I agree...shallow tanks are the way to go for prop tank. As far as fast sps, montiporas, milleporas, and almost any staghorn type acro will grow pretty fast, as far as the sps world is concerned.

Yeah, GARF Bonsia, Staghorn, or Monti Cap are fast grower. They are colorful as well. Best of both world.

Check out the frag tank I built. The shallow tank (37GAL Acrylic on it's side) allows more light to pentrate the shallower water and gives easy access to the corals. I have build eggcrate shelves that I put the coral on and they are growing like mad! I am using 150W MH and 2 X 65W Sunpaqs PC.

Thread: http://www.atlantareefclub.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5556

I personally think it all depends. If you want to do all your frags in one tank you have more options with the 200g stair-stepped setup. If you're going balls to the wall with lighting, for example, you may want the extra depth for growing out shrooms and other pseudo-corals that have lower lighting needs, and may bleach out or shrivel up in an SPS environment. That way, you can have all your SPS with plenty of light on top, and still have a place to grow frags of low-light corals. If you already have the tank and the lights and equipment, you may as well use it. and with 200g of frag space, you're never going to have to pay for corals again!

I personally think it all depends. If you want to do all your frags in one tank you have more options with the 200g stair-stepped setup. If you're going balls to the wall with lighting, for example, you may want the extra depth for growing out shrooms and other pseudo-corals that have lower lighting needs, and may bleach out or shrivel up in an SPS environment. That way, you can have all your SPS with plenty of light on top, and still have a place to grow frags of low-light corals. If you already have the tank and the lights and equipment, you may as well use it. and with 200g of frag space, you're never going to have to pay for corals again!

I was thinking along these lines too, not only different lighting needs,. but different current as well. for lighting I'll be using 3 400wMH, and 2 T5s

Great minds think alike!