Fluval Roma 200 Problem

Hi All-  could anyone offer any help with my Fluval 200 please? I'm running a brilliant eheim 2217 on it, but the eheim pipes wont allow me to close the lid fully- and this make the whole set up look really ugly. I notice there are two blankplates on it-( similar to my much better designed roma 90) Are these ok to hacksaw partially out, or will I come up against sealant or even worse the glass itself? I wouldn't need to go all the way down, just enough for the pipes to clear. I really don't want to cut into the lid if possible. thanks in advance