TLDR the whole thread, but only read the opener. Here at the BWC, we have 3 beautiful cypress tanks from the lamentably-named but high-quality Confederate Stills of Alabama. Paul manufactured and delivered these himself (picture attached of the delivery night). Here are my two cents, and the expression should indicate the value to which you ascribe that which I opine:
You don't need a steam wand. We have a ~$150 model from Amazon that works great, but I can't imagine it is more effective than a nice brush. Sterilization or even sanitation don't seem to groove in my mind with open-top fermenters. That said, the biggest harbor of baddies seem to live under their own protective film of goo, and mostly toward the top (where all the O2 is), and this layer was only ever an item of concern while the fermenters were filled with water. Keep them swelled. We had ours for months before the first fermentation, and had to keep them filled with H20. During the summer, this meant weekly draining and refilling to keep the water more or less fresh. The most gross stuff shows up on top. The only time they were dry was when we first took them, and on the first fill they leaked a bit (not much) for a couple days while the cypress swelled. Filling with low pH, biologically active fermentations is way better and stabler than pure, carte blanche water. So get fermenting quickly and you'll never notice any baddies in there. Graded bottom: optional! Ours do not have a graded bottom. We are a couple of more-or-less athletic guys, so when we need to get the last out, we literally deadlift the two fermenter-feet opposite the line-out and put a 2x4 underneath. With 4,000 lbs of something mostly or entirely water inside, it would be possible, but empty this is an easy task, and not a lot to ask. If you had large ones, or were incapable of hoisting them manually, a caring pallet jack placed appropriately would suit.
Cheers from the Baltimore Whiskey Company!