If the command bus itself can transmit data, there should be no reason that a simple pH probe port would need Bluetooth, wifi, or any other connectivity outside of the command bus wire. All communication should be able to be done from the main control brain unit to the ancillary device through that cable. It *should* be akin to plugging a mouse into a computer. Conversion of Analog signal input to Digital information that can be passed over the Command Bus may need some sort of processing unit, but it shouldn't be necessary to have one that is on par with the X3's own logic chip, as it simply doesn't warrant that amount of processing power, for example it doesn't need a SOC or however they're running their software, it should only need the ability to convert while the controller it's connected to handles all of the data, calibration, and limited firmware update. But I digress, I don't know enough about how the Hydros controller run internally to say that with any certainty, so maybe you're right. However, the fact that it can (as you've illustrated) be done with a 0-10v port means that it can be done in some way shape or form, and CoralVue could just do it that way. It's probably not outside the scope completely of my DIY skills, I've done a few R-Pi projects of varying complexities, so I could probably figure it out, but, since I'm lazy, it wouldn't have the same build quality as the rest of the Hydros equipment, lol.
as for the price, I am already aware you don't need those things for a simple pH port, so spending $300 for the monitor kit makes it not seems as worth it, but spending $200 (Plus a $40 probe) for something and only utilizing a single port on it also makes very little sense to me. By the time you buy a pH probe and a Command Bus cable, you're already at $246, which isn't all that far away from $300.