diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/main/resources/reference.conf b/akka-cluster/src/main/resources/reference.conf
index 42ce7e4a77..7dd511e34a 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/main/resources/reference.conf
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/main/resources/reference.conf
@@ -17,12 +17,21 @@ akka {
 
     # the number of gossip daemon actors
     nr-of-gossip-daemons = 4
+
+    # the number of deputy nodes (the nodes responsible for breaking network partitions)
     nr-of-deputy-nodes = 3
 
-    gossip {
-      initialDelay = 5s
-      frequency = 1s
-    }
+    # how long should the node wait before starting the periodic tasks maintenance tasks?
+    periodic-tasks-initial-delay = 1s
+
+    # how often should the node send out gossip information?
+    gossip-frequency = 1s
+
+    # how often should the leader perform maintenance tasks?
+    leader-actions-frequency = 1s
+
+    # how often should the node move nodes, marked as unreachable by the failure detector, out of the membership ring?
+    unreachable-nodes-reaper-frequency = 1s
 
     # accrual failure detection config
     failure-detector {
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSettings.scala b/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSettings.scala
index 50b0f5bd0b..a24c75b436 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSettings.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterSettings.scala
@@ -19,8 +19,10 @@ class ClusterSettings(val config: Config, val systemName: String) {
     case ""                         ⇒ None
     case AddressFromURIString(addr) ⇒ Some(addr)
   }
-  val GossipInitialDelay = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.gossip.initialDelay"), MILLISECONDS)
-  val GossipFrequency = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.gossip.frequency"), MILLISECONDS)
+  val PeriodicTasksInitialDelay = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.periodic-tasks-initial-delay"), MILLISECONDS)
+  val GossipFrequency = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.gossip-frequency"), MILLISECONDS)
+  val LeaderActionsFrequency = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.leader-actions-frequency"), MILLISECONDS)
+  val UnreachableNodesReaperFrequency = Duration(getMilliseconds("akka.cluster.unreachable-nodes-reaper-frequency"), MILLISECONDS)
   val NrOfGossipDaemons = getInt("akka.cluster.nr-of-gossip-daemons")
   val NrOfDeputyNodes = getInt("akka.cluster.nr-of-deputy-nodes")
   val AutoDown = getBoolean("akka.cluster.auto-down")
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/Node.scala b/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/Node.scala
index 4c94434806..9cb5bb6f50 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/Node.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/main/scala/akka/cluster/Node.scala
@@ -335,8 +335,8 @@ object Node extends ExtensionId[Node] with ExtensionIdProvider {
 class Node(system: ExtendedActorSystem) extends Extension {
 
   /**
-   * Represents the state for this Node. Implemented using optimistic lockless concurrency,
-   * all state is represented by this immutable case class and managed by an AtomicReference.
+   * Represents the state for this Node. Implemented using optimistic lockless concurrency.
+   * All state is represented by this immutable case class and managed by an AtomicReference.
    */
   private case class State(
     latestGossip: Gossip,
@@ -356,8 +356,10 @@ class Node(system: ExtendedActorSystem) extends Extension {
 
   private val vclockNode = VectorClock.Node(remoteAddress.toString)
 
-  private val gossipInitialDelay = clusterSettings.GossipInitialDelay
+  private val periodicTasksInitialDelay = clusterSettings.PeriodicTasksInitialDelay
   private val gossipFrequency = clusterSettings.GossipFrequency
+  private val leaderActionsFrequency = clusterSettings.LeaderActionsFrequency
+  private val unreachableNodesReaperFrequency = clusterSettings.UnreachableNodesReaperFrequency
 
   implicit private val defaultTimeout = Timeout(remoteSettings.RemoteSystemDaemonAckTimeout)
 
@@ -397,17 +399,17 @@ class Node(system: ExtendedActorSystem) extends Extension {
   // ========================================================
 
   // start periodic gossip to random nodes in cluster
-  private val gossipCanceller = system.scheduler.schedule(gossipInitialDelay, gossipFrequency) {
+  private val gossipCanceller = system.scheduler.schedule(periodicTasksInitialDelay, gossipFrequency) {
     gossip()
   }
 
   // start periodic cluster failure detector reaping (moving nodes condemned by the failure detector to unreachable list)
-  private val failureDetectorReaperCanceller = system.scheduler.schedule(gossipInitialDelay, gossipFrequency) { // TODO: should we use the same gossipFrequency for reaping?
+  private val failureDetectorReaperCanceller = system.scheduler.schedule(periodicTasksInitialDelay, unreachableNodesReaperFrequency) {
     reapUnreachableMembers()
   }
 
   // start periodic leader action management (only applies for the current leader)
-  private val leaderActionsCanceller = system.scheduler.schedule(gossipInitialDelay, gossipFrequency) { // TODO: should we use the same gossipFrequency for leaderActions?
+  private val leaderActionsCanceller = system.scheduler.schedule(periodicTasksInitialDelay, leaderActionsFrequency) {
     leaderActions()
   }
 
diff --git a/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterConfigSpec.scala b/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterConfigSpec.scala
index 1a4b8a6082..3a92b46eec 100644
--- a/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterConfigSpec.scala
+++ b/akka-cluster/src/test/scala/akka/cluster/ClusterConfigSpec.scala
@@ -19,8 +19,10 @@ class ClusterConfigSpec extends ClusterSpec {
       FailureDetectorThreshold must be(8)
       FailureDetectorMaxSampleSize must be(1000)
       NodeToJoin must be(None)
-      GossipInitialDelay must be(5 seconds)
+      PeriodicTasksInitialDelay must be(1 seconds)
       GossipFrequency must be(1 second)
+      LeaderActionsFrequency must be(1 second)
+      UnreachableNodesReaperFrequency must be(1 second)
       NrOfGossipDaemons must be(4)
       NrOfDeputyNodes must be(3)
       AutoDown must be(true)