I have two of them. One of them is a shrimp tank and the other is a betta tank. I removed the filter panel and replaced it with sponge and bio-rings. Where the filter is located, the space is very tight.
1st picture is the stock lighting and your able to remove it. Which I did and replace it with the finnex clip on.
The gray plastic panel cover of the filter? If so, yes it can be removed easily.