Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Muddy water Is brown/yellow water always clay?

I've had my pond for a few years now and every spring I seem to get worried about the clarity of the water.
I realized today that I have ASSUMED that a brownish/yellow color to the water was a clay issue after i saw a youtube video where the creator said there was brown algae in his pond every spring.
I always thought of algae as being green. I never considered that suspended particles making the water look yellow could be anything other than clay/dirt.

Is there such thing as brown/yellow algae that could be causing my turbidity?
If so, is there anything I can or should do about it?

Also I had a water test done on 3/5/24 with the following results...

PH 7.4
Hardness 96.5 ppm
Hardness Grains 5.64 /gal
Conductivity .17 mmhos/cm
Sodium Absorption Ratio .03

Calcium 31.5 ppm
Magnesium 4.3 ppm
Potassium 9.6 ppm
Sodium .6 pppm
Iron 6 ppm

Total Alkalinity 31.5
Carbonate 0
Bicarbonate 38.0
Chloride 40.0
Sulfate 21.5
Salt Concentration 107.5
Boron .08

Nitrate .9 ppm
P .029 ppm
pHc 8.56
Adj. SAR .02

How long does it take for the water to clear up

Here is a related thread that describes how to do a "jar test". That is by far the simplest way to do initial testing on your pond water.

Pond Boss Thread - Turbidity and Jar Test