It can be removed with a little work. You are going to cut it off and sand down the excess left from the cuts or not even worry about it if its going to be out of sight. I have all the tools you would need let me know if you need assistance.
if its outside the back of the tank you just cut it off.....if its inside the tank then its going to be a little more work and you have some options to cover the cuts and sanding if the back is clear you can just buff it out if its black I would suggest just cutting everything out and gluing in a new black back to the existing back once its sanded smooth after the removal of the filter