diff --git a/app/controllers/list_controller.rb b/app/controllers/list_controller.rb
index e4e037170ca..e680ce8d683 100644
--- a/app/controllers/list_controller.rb
+++ b/app/controllers/list_controller.rb
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ class ListController < ApplicationController
 
   def top(options=nil)
     options ||= {}
-    period = ListController.best_period_for(current_user.try(:previous_visit_at), options[:category], SiteSetting.top_page_default_timeframe.to_sym)
+    period = ListController.best_period_for(current_user.try(:previous_visit_at), options[:category])
     send("top_#{period}", options)
   end
 
@@ -327,14 +327,14 @@ class ListController < ApplicationController
     exclude_category_ids.pluck(:id)
   end
 
-  def self.best_period_for(previous_visit_at, category_id=nil, default_period=nil)
+  def self.best_period_for(previous_visit_at, category_id=nil)
     best_periods_for(previous_visit_at).each do |period|
       top_topics = TopTopic.where("#{period}_score > 0")
       top_topics = top_topics.joins(:topic).where("topics.category_id = ?", category_id) if category_id
       return period if top_topics.count >= SiteSetting.topics_per_period_in_top_page
     end
-
-    default_period
+    # default period is yearly
+    SiteSetting.top_page_default_timeframe.to_sym
   end
 
   def self.best_periods_for(date)
diff --git a/app/models/site_setting.rb b/app/models/site_setting.rb
index 2a2c04ac468..dcc74ecfc31 100644
--- a/app/models/site_setting.rb
+++ b/app/models/site_setting.rb
@@ -97,8 +97,13 @@ class SiteSetting < ActiveRecord::Base
     ].flatten.to_set
   end
 
-  def self.min_redirected_to_top_period(duration=nil)
-    return ListController.best_period_for(duration)
+  def self.min_redirected_to_top_period
+    TopTopic.sorted_periods.each do |p|
+      period = p[0]
+      return period if TopTopic.topics_per_period(period) >= SiteSetting.topics_per_period_in_top_page
+    end
+    # not enough topics
+    nil
   end
 
   def self.email_polling_enabled?
diff --git a/app/models/user_option.rb b/app/models/user_option.rb
index 99be107d215..1071026c183 100644
--- a/app/models/user_option.rb
+++ b/app/models/user_option.rb
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ class UserOption < ActiveRecord::Base
     # top must be in the top_menu
     return unless SiteSetting.top_menu =~ /(^|\|)top(\||$)/i
     # not enough topics
-    return unless period = SiteSetting.min_redirected_to_top_period(1.days.ago)
+    return unless period = SiteSetting.min_redirected_to_top_period
 
     if !user.seen_before? || (user.trust_level == 0 && !redirected_to_top_yet?)
       update_last_redirected_to_top!
diff --git a/spec/controllers/list_controller_spec.rb b/spec/controllers/list_controller_spec.rb
index 03768b08536..c07c6ad2f73 100644
--- a/spec/controllers/list_controller_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/controllers/list_controller_spec.rb
@@ -226,63 +226,6 @@ describe ListController do
     end
   end
 
-  describe "best_period_for" do
-
-    context "has_top_topics_and_not_seen_recently" do
-
-      SiteSetting.topics_per_period_in_top_page = 2
-      SiteSetting.top_page_default_timeframe = 'daily'
-
-      let!(:t1) { Fabricate(:topic) }
-      let!(:t2) { Fabricate(:topic) }
-      let!(:t3) { Fabricate(:topic) }
-
-      before do
-        TopTopic.refresh!
-      end
-
-      it "should_return_a_time_period" do
-        expect(ListController.best_period_for(nil, nil, SiteSetting.top_page_default_timeframe.to_sym)).not_to eq(nil)
-      end
-
-    end
-
-    context "has_top_topics_and_seen_recently" do
-
-      SiteSetting.topics_per_period_in_top_page = 2
-      SiteSetting.top_page_default_timeframe = 'daily'
-
-      let!(:t1) { Fabricate(:topic) }
-      let!(:t2) { Fabricate(:topic) }
-      let!(:t3) { Fabricate(:topic) }
-
-      before do
-        TopTopic.refresh!
-      end
-
-      it "should_return_a_time_period" do
-        expect(ListController.best_period_for(1.month.ago, nil, SiteSetting.top_page_default_timeframe.to_sym)).not_to eq(nil)
-      end
-
-    end
-
-    context "does_not_have_top_topics" do
-
-      SiteSetting.topics_per_period_in_top_page = 2
-      SiteSetting.top_page_default_timeframe = 'daily'
-
-      before do
-        TopTopic.refresh!
-      end
-
-      it "should_not_return_a_time_period" do
-        expect(ListController.best_period_for(1.month.ago, nil, nil)).to eq(nil)
-      end
-
-    end
-
-  end
-
   describe "best_periods_for" do
 
     it "returns yearly for more than 180 days" do