Is my Filter good ?

[Torino]

So i am a complete noob i went off and bought a 55gallon tank with some lights, filter and heater

now this was all 2nd hand

I put some water in the tank and put the filter on. i dont know if its doing the job

There was some gravel and he told me that i should just keep it so i didnt clean or remove the gravel out of the tank. ones i filled it up it became really clowdy (dirty ?)
is the filter supose to clean the tank or should I drain it and clean the gravel ?

anyways the filter that he gave me is Top Fin 60

So i pluged it in and put it in the tank is there anythin i have to replace in it ? it was really dirty when i got it and i cleaned it abit

[Agnate]

Personally, I would have cleaned the gravel by rinsing it with water using a strainer.  I wouldn't have boiled it or anything, but I definitely would have cleaned it a bit.  However, you can use your python (once you get it working) to clean the gravel after things have settled.  Technically your filter should catch the dirt floating around in it's cartridge filter.

I don't like Top Fin filters, as they prime themselves very poorly, are loud (comparatively), and have a poor system for the cartridge/media.  However, if you've already got it, you might as well use it. 

[presto]

The dirt will settle within hours.

If it is still muggy, I would definitely gravel vac the hell out of it. Even refill it just to vac some more until it is clean. The gravel is good even when it is clean since the bacteria is in the rock pores too, not the sludge and dirt.

If the media is extremely dirty/rotting I would replace it, other than that if the filter is working I wouldn't touch something that isn't broken.

Like Agnate said, you should see debris being sucked into the filter or stuck around the intake.

[dan2x38]

If you do vacuum a lot of water out - which you should - when replacing the water put a bowl at the bottom of the tank on the gravel then pour the water over that. The bowl will break the turbulence of the pouring water without disturbing the gravel creating clouding again. You said you washed the gravel some, with what? I use straight hot water when rinsing used gravel. I spread a towel in the strainer with gravel 1/2 - 3/4 filled. I rinse several times then put the clean gravel in my bucket. This saves you sink's drain...

The filter might be OK but they are low end filters. They have poor pass through meaning the water might not contact the entire media surface. In that case you have less bacteria to handle the bio-load and less solid waste filtered out. It also depends on the fish you are planning to add. Goldfish definitely not they create to much waste. Some small tetras, gouramis, rainbows, etc. as long as not over stocked you should be fine if you do regular water changes. I swear by weekly water changes on all my tanks! A couple every 3 days like my inverts.